


Fractured (Broken Book Two)

by CassiCohen



Series: Broken [2]
Category: Prodigal Son (TV 2019)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-10
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-13 21:01:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 40,359
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28659879
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CassiCohen/pseuds/CassiCohen
Summary: The aftermath of Ainsley's shocking show of aggression leaves Malcolm, Lilian, and Sophie to clean up the mess and keep the secret from the others to save Ainsley's life and Jessica's sanity.
Relationships: Malcolm Bright/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Broken [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1784671
Comments: 10
Kudos: 7





	1. Disclaimer

Please remember to read "Broken" before beginning this story as this is a continuation of Broken following along with Prodigal Son Season Two.

My goal is to have chapters ready between Friday and Sunday following each episode. This depends on my schedule and downtime and I will try to let y'all know if I'm unable to complete a chapter on time. 

I am so excited for the continuation of this story as I am sure you all are.

Season Two Premiere January 12th at 9pm

See you then Prodigies!


	2. Prologue: Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of Ainsley's brutal murder of Nicholas Endicott.

Time stood still as we stared at one another for what felt like an eternity.  
"Malcolm? Oh my God, Lily? He told me what he did to you. Oh my God, that's so much blood. Why am I covered in blood... Oh my God, is he dead?" Ainsley began to panic forcing me forward towards her.  
"Ains, Ainsley. Honey, it's okay." I took her by her shoulders and turned her away from Nicholas' body.  
"No. Don't look over there. Look at me." I insisted when she tried to look over my shoulder at him.  
"He said you were dead..." She shook her head.  
"Honey, I'm not dead. Look at me." I took her bloody hand in mine so she could feel my skin.  
"I'm not dead. I'm going to be fine." I assured her.  
"Did I kill him? What did I do? Why am I covered in blood?" She looked up at me, her entire body trembled violently.  
"Hey. Listen. All right? You did nothing. I did this, Ainsley. I killed him." Malcolm spoke up touching her shoulder from behind me.  
"Ainsley, Malcolm and I are going to take care of this. I need you to go with Sophie, get cleaned up and rest, okay?" I asked gently.  
"Sophie?"  
"Yes, she's a friend. She'll take care of you." I promised nodding at Sophie.  
She met my eye and nodded before disappearing back down into the tunnels under the estate to retrieve her car.  
"Come on. Trust me, Ainsley." I pulled her out of the room and away from the body.  
I lead her out to Sophie's car and Sophie helped me sit her in the front seat.  
"I programmed the address into your GPS. After you drop her off and she gets cleaned up I need you to bring her clothes back here. I need all the evidence here." I instructed Sophie gently.  
"Of course. You really should be in a hospital." She looked at me cautiously.  
"I know. Right now the adrenaline is pretty strong."  
I looked over her shoulder at Ainsley staring expressionlessly out the windshield.  
"I'll take care of her, Lily. I promise you." Sophie assured me.  
I nodded.  
"Thank you, Sophie. Go on. I'm okay." I assured her.  
I watched them drive away before rushing back into the house.  
"Oh my God! Lily!" Malcolm exclaimed finally really looking at me for the first time.  
"Don't worry about me yet." I instructed looking down at Endicott's body.  
"You need to call your father." I sighed.  
"What?" He asked looking at me incredulously.  
"We need to get this cleaned up. There's a fairly good chance Ainsley won't remember actually killing him. She'll believe you did it and the only way to shield her from all of this is to get it cleaned up. I'll make a formal report about what he did to me and it'll look like he ran when he realized I wasn't dead." I explained as gently as I could.  
"Call your father and find out what we need." I repeated.  
I found my left arm largely useless despite the adrenaline coursing through my veins vaguely aware of Malcolm speaking to his father.  
"Lilian?" Dr. Martin Whitly's voice broke through my haze.  
"Yes." I answered.  
"How badly are you hurt?" He asked gentler than I'd anticipated.  
"Bad. Two stab wounds, he slit the muscle in my left bicep, two shallow cuts; one at the base of my throat and another along my jawline. He used the trifecta." I answered.  
"You should be dead." He stated matter of factly.  
"I would be if Sophie hadn't found me when she did."  
"Sophie?"  
"Yes, Martin. Turns out you last intended victim doesn't harbor any ill will towards Malcolm or myself for your actions." I sighed.  
"I probably have less than an hour left before the adrenaline crash so if we could move it along."  
"Of course. Of course. You'll need a large plastic tarp and something to protect Malcolm's clothing."  
Malcolm collected the materials and laid the tarp next to Nicholas' body.  
"There's a lot of blood." Malcolm told his father looking at me.  
"All right, forget the blood. Deal with the body first. Rigor mortis will make dismemberment a real bitch."  
"We're going to chop him up?"  
"This is for your sister, son." Martin reminded him.  
"What do we do?" I asked struggling to push through the fog slowly clouding my mind.  
"Lilian, do you think you can help Malcolm move the body onto the tarp?" He asked.  
"Yeah. I think so."  
"Malcolm grab his shoulders." I instructed grabbing ahold of his ankles.  
Together we lifted the body and laid it in the center of the tarp.  
"Okay." I sighed stumbling into the back of the couch.  
"Malcolm, my boy, there's an electric circular saw in my study in the basement. I need you to get it."  
Malcolm got up and rushed out of the room.  
"You shouldn't have done that." Martin said.  
"I know."  
"You're going to bleed out before we finish." He continued.  
"I know." I sighed pain starting to push it's way into my consciousness.  
I forced myself over to the Whitly's phone.  
"Lily?" Aaron's voice asked.  
"I need you at the Whitly house." I forced out.  
"What?"  
"Aaron, now. Please."  
"I'll be right there." He answered.  
"Who's Aaron?" Martin asked.  
"A friend, Martin. He'll help us." I answered slightly annoyed.  
"I found it." Malcolm announced rushing back into the room.  
"Lilian, you need to hold the limb steady so Malcolm can saw through the bone." Martin said.  
"Start with the head. It'll be the easiest."  
I forced myself to move to hold Nicholas' head still. We moved steadily and silently around the body removing the limbs and cutting them into smaller pieces then loading those pieces into garbage bags for transport.  
"Lily!" Aaron's voice called out as the door flew open.  
"Oh my God. What happened here?" He asked taking in the blood that covered the Whitly's living room.  
"Malcolm's sister killed Endicott. I need you to get the body out of here so we can start cleaning up the blood." I answered.  
"Where do you expect me to take a dismembered body?" He asked looking at me as Sophie walked back into the room.  
"Sophie, Aaron. Aaron, Sophie." I explained when she looked at me, her hand on the top of the pistol on her waist.  
Malcolm still sat on the floor near me staring at the blood covering the hardwood floor, the rug, everything; almost as if he couldn't hear us.  
"I don't care where you take it, Aaron. As far as you can." I instructed as gently as I could muster as my head spun from the blood loss.  
"Okay, but you need to let me take you to the hospital." He insisted.  
"No, Aaron. If I show back up to the hospital without Malcolm they'll know something's wrong." I sighed leaning against the back of Jessica's couch.  
"Malcolm." Aaron turned on him.  
"I have to get this cleaned up. We have to protect Ainsley." He muttered almost as if in a trance.  
"Malcolm!" Aaron said firmly.  
"If we don't get Lily to the hospital now she's going to bleed out. Look at her." He pointed at me.  
Malcolm's eyes finally found mine.  
"Let Sophie and I help you. I've worked for Lilian for over a year. I trust her. We'll help you."  
Malcolm continued to look at me as if looking for approval. I nodded painfully.  
"It's okay baby." I murmured.  
Finally, he nodded.  
"I'm going to start on the clean up while Sophie takes you both to the hospital, okay?" Aaron asked looking at me.  
I nodded.  
"Put the body in the large room under the basement. You and Sophie can move it after." I said.  
"Sophie, did you bring back Ainsley's clothes."  
She nodded handing Aaron another bag.  
"Malcolm, can you carry her?" Sophie asked.  
"Yeah, I can." He answered.  
My eyes drifted closed as he lifted me up into his arms.  
"Malcolm." I muttered his name as the sedition began to wear off.  
"I'm here, baby. Everything's okay." He answered, his voice soft but full of concern.  
"I'll get the doctor." I heard Sophie say.  
"Sophie?" I sighed.  
"Yeah, baby. Everyone's here."  
I felt Malcolm's fingers smoothing my hair gently.  
"Ah. There you are, Dr. Russell. I'm Dr. Timothy Michaels. I performed your emergency surgeries." A tall man with dark hair and hazel eyes said walking into the room behind Sophie.  
Out of habit I tried to push myself up.  
"No, Lily. You need to rest." Malcolm said gently laying his hand on my right shoulder.  
"You have a serious puncture wound to the upper left quadrant that barely missed the base of the left lung and another to the left shoulder that slipped right behind the clavicle. You're left bicep was slit nearly in half, interestingly that'll be your biggest issue moving forward. You're actually surprisingly lucky, Dr. Russell." Dr. Michaels explained.  
I'd figured as much.  
"We lost you more than once but you're definitely a fighter. I think you'll be just fine with time."  
"Thank you, doctor." I nodded.  
I winced slightly trying to find a comfortable position after he left.  
"Do you need more medication?" Malcolm asked taking my hand.  
I thought on that for a moment then nodded.  
I generally handled pain very well but I'd been suppressing it for so long that it felt like my entire left side had been set on fire.  
"We've been giving you morphine. Is that still alright?" A young nurse asked entering the room.  
I nodded and she disappeared as quickly as she came.  
"I went to get her." Jessica said easing my confusion.  
"Gil?" I asked looking around, my heart rate speeding up.  
"He's right here, Lil." Malcolm moved a little so I could see Gil's unconscious form lying in the bed next to mine.  
"They wanted you to have a completely private room but I explained that you'd want him here."  
"Thank you." I sighed.  
"Hey. Why don't we give them a minute? We'll get some coffee? My treat." Jessica suggested.  
"I love you so much, Lily. Baby, I'm so sorry." Malcolm leaned down and pressed his forehead to mine.  
"No, baby. This isn't your fault." I assured him.  
"He hurt you to hurt me, to hurt my father. It is my fault."  
"Malcolm Bright." I sighed his name shaking my head.  
"I love you so much, Malcolm. Do you really think that Nicholas Endicott wouldn't have come after me anyway? Eventually? Your father was right about one thing, I am the only one that could rival Endicott. Money. Power. Influence. And I'm a Chief in the FBI. It was only a matter of time before I caught on to Nicholas even without Eve's help." I explained.  
"Maybe you're right."  
"Of course I'm right, Malcolm. I'm a genius." I smirked at him.  
"There's my girl." Malcolm smiled at me.  
"Okay, Dr. Russell. I have your medication." The nurse smiled at me walking back into the room.  
"Thank you." I smiled at her.  
She inserted the needle into my IV. My heart rate increased slightly for a split second before the morphine began to take effect.  
"It's okay to sleep, Lily. You need to rest." Malcolm took my hand as I slowly drifted back to sleep.


	3. It's All in the Execution

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bright and Lily find their personal lives in disarray after Ainsley's shocking actions. Now, they must “take care” of her and protect Jessica, from a secret that could tear the family apart all over again. To distract themselves they takes on a new case and must find the killer behind a recent beheading in the city… and the only person they can turn to for help with the case is Dr. Martin Whitly. Meanwhile, Martin returns to Claremont to a surprise new roommate and JT faces discrimination while on the job

The dismembered body of Billionaire Businessman Nicholas Endicott was found yesterday in Estonia near the Russian boarder floating in Lake Peipus. Endicott, a once beloved philanthropist, is now most infamously known for the abduction and torture of New York's Modern Princess, Dr. Lilian Russell just six months ago. A man on the six o'clock news announced on the first Tuesday evening in November.  
"Shut that off, Lily." Sophie called from the kitchen.  
I complied with a sigh standing up.  
"What are you making?" I asked sitting on one of the stools at the counter.  
"Creamy Garlic Prawns with Fettuccine." She smiled at me.  
"Do you need any help?"  
"Sure. Do you wanna peel the prawns?" She asked moving the bowl of uncooked prawns towards me.  
"You can put the shells in this pot so I can make a stock later." She handed me a large pot.  
"No problem." I smiled immediately getting to work.  
"There's something I need to ask you and it's kind of short notice." I smiled innocently at her as I worked on the prawns.  
"What is it?" She asked narrowing her eyes playfully at me.  
"Tally can't be a bridesmaid in the wedding anymore. I'd asked her before she got pregnant and with the wedding being New Year's Eve she'll have an infant. The added stress wouldn't be good for her. I was hoping that you'd consider stepping in to fill the role? Aaron is already one of Malcolm's groomsmen and after... well, you know, I can't really think of anyone better." I rambled slightly.  
"Of course I will, Lily."  
"Thank you, and thank you for staying with us during quarantine. I know Malcolm appreciates that I'm not alone while he works."  
"I have a question about that. Why is he working?" She asked.  
"What do you mean?" I asked looking over at her.  
"Not that I don't love spending time with you, I do. I was just wondering... You don't have to work, do you? Neither of you."  
"We don't need the money, no. He likes to work. He needs to catch killers. Stopping killers is how he makes sense of life. It gives him purpose. Keeps him sane." I chuckled lightly.  
"What about you?" She asked.  
"Helping people is good for me. Plus, someone has to make sure Malcolm doesn't get himself maimed or killed."  
"I almost fell off that ledge and my father is being transferred back to Claremont!" Malcolm exclaimed walking into the loft.  
"Speak of the devil." I smiled looking at him.  
"Was not the plan for you to almost fall off the ledge?" I asked pushing the finished bowl of prawns back at Sophie.  
"Yes, but it was premature."  
Sophie looked at me and raised her eyebrows causing me to burst out in laughter.  
"Is that a frequent problem?" She asked.  
"Why do you relish in making fun of me?" Malcolm muttered.  
"Oh. Come here, love. I'm sorry. It's just been rough being cooped up for six months. We're just having a little fun." I soothed him when he stepped into my arms.  
"What did you say about Martin?" I asked laying my head on his chest.  
"They're rewarding him for preventing COVID from running rampant through Hoosegow by sending him back to Claremont."  
"Of course they are. Maybe I should have just bought the personal suite back in May." I sighed.  
"You were dealing with a lot. He knows that."  
I nodded looking over at Sophie checking for any signs of discomfort but found none.  
"Why don't you two lovebirds go pick out a movie to watch while I finish this?" She smiled warmly at us.  
Malcolm took my hand and lead me back into the living room so we could look through our digital library to find a movie to watch during dinner.  
We decided on 'Split' from M. Night Shyamalan just as Sophie brought in three plates of food.  
"Thank you, Sophie. This looks great." I smiled at her.  
"Thank you." She smiled back at me.  
"That was perfect, Sophie." Malcolm smiled at her taking the plates once the movie finished then disappeared into the kitchen to clean up.  
They refused to let me do much despite being cleared for duty by multiple doctors at the insistence of my loving, overly concerned fiancé.  
"How is he doing?" She asked me.  
"About you being around or about everything?" I asked.  
"Let's start small."  
"Like I said earlier, he likes having you around to look out for me. He hasn't said anything to the contrary."  
"What about the rest?"  
"It's hard. With his father being who he is and having to watch his sister kill someone." I shrugged.  
"Then cutting up the body and nearly losing you?" She reminded me.  
"He's struggling. Throwing himself into work. He's always been like this though."  
She nodded thoughtfully for a moment.  
"What about you? Are you sure about going to work tomorrow?" She asked.  
"I am. I've been working from home for the FBI anyway. My position is largely administrative." I shrugged.  
"But you consult for the NYPD with Malcolm?"  
"Right. When he was with the FBI we would travel together to cities experiencing crimes they couldn't solve. Think: Criminal Minds. Then he left me in January of '15 and I started working with a different profiler but it just didn't work. I met my abusive ex in December of '16 but we didn't start dating until June of '17. I was with him for a year and a half before he put me in the hospital and killed my unborn baby. I started working on my own in January of '19 then Gil called in September and I reconnected with Malcolm. He kissed me when I took him home on September 23rd. He called me his girlfriend on October 30th and we slept together; said I love you on November 7th. Wow. That was probably more than you wanted to know." I looked at her sheepishly.  
"It's fine. I'd call September 23rd the anniversary." She chuckled.  
"When did you actually meet?"  
"September 9th 1998. We were ten."  
"So, you knew him before?"  
I nodded.  
"We'd been friends for three months before Martin's arrest."  
I yawned involuntarily.  
"I should get going so you guys can get some sleep before you go back to work tomorrow." Sophie said standing up.  
With Endicott disposed of she didn't need to hide anymore. Especially after being the one to save the life of New York's FBI Chief.  
"Thank you again, Sophie. I'll give you a call tomorrow?" I stood up to hug her.  
"Sounds great."  
After she left I walked into the kitchen where Malcolm had just finished loading the dishwasher.  
"Ready for bed?" I asked.  
"More than almost anything." He nodded.  
"Mother." Malcolm muttered moving beneath me the next morning.  
"I say a little prayer for you. To live without you, would only bring heartbreak for me." Jessica finished her song as Malcolm pulled gently out from under me and out of our bed.  
Malcolm slept in sweatpants, I, however, did not.  
"What an unexpected surprise. To what do we owe... this?" Malcolm asked walking towards the kitchen drawing her gaze away from the bed so I could slide on my plush bathrobe.  
"It seemed unfair not to share my new talent with the two of you." She turned and smiled at me.  
"Oh, save some for Mommy." She gushed at her son as he took his medication.  
"Kidding. I have all the pills I need. And a few I don't." She smirked at me as I walked over towards my love.  
"I am re-instituting brunch. You and your sister are healthy and safe. Gil and Lily are recovering nicely. You'll join us for brunch, won't you?" She turned to me.  
"Of course. I'm a mere sixty days from officially being family." I smiled at her.  
"Oh, mom, we've got to go. JT caught a body." He glanced up at me from his phone before wrapping his arm around me.  
"You're going back to work?" She looked at me.  
"It's been six months, Jess. I'm okay." I insisted.  
"Oh. Undoubtedly. I just wasn't aware. Where's Sophie?" She asked.  
"I gifted her my loft and am just staying here with Malcolm until the house is finished in January."  
"Just be careful, my dears." She smiled between Malcolm and I before leaving.  
I slid my palms over his bare stomach.  
"You sure about this?" Malcolm asked.  
"I am. Let's go catch a killer." I smiled at him.  
I dressed in black slacks and a blue button up short sleeved blouse then secured my sidearm to my waist.  
Malcolm walked into the kitchen wearing a dark green suit under a black trench coat.  
"Damn... I look forward to taking that off you later." I teased.  
"I look forward to that too." He smiled at me.  
"Hi. How you doing?" Malcolm asked Dani as we walked towards the crime scene.  
"Oh, I'm wonderful. Global pandemic. Systemic racism. It's the perfect time to be a young Black woman and a cop. How are you?" She responded narrowing her eyes at him.  
"I think things are looking up." He smiled.  
"Really? Why?" She asked as he lifted the crime scene tape.  
"Lily's back and we get to catch a killer." He handed her a lollipop.  
"Lily!" Dani exclaimed finally catching sight of me.  
"Hey you." I smiled hugging her.  
"It's so good to have you back." She sighed hugging me tight.  
"Good to be back."  
The three of us walked together though the courtyard of the large mansion to where a blonde woman lay on a bench in a long blue dress.  
"What've we got, Detective in Charge Tarmel?" I asked smiling at him.  
"Lily, thank God." He muttered.  
"Millicent Lee. Married a Texas oil tycoon thirty years her senior. After he died, she moved here to spend all that money." JT told us as Malcolm examined the body.  
"There's a... respectful quality to how she was placed. Almost loving. Question, how was she killed?"  
"Answer." Edrisa said standing up.  
"Lily?" She said when she saw me and rushed over to hug me.  
"I can fire these people, right?" JT muttered.  
"Edrisa." I said gently.  
"Right. Oh. How was she killed? Well, not here, for starters. She was moved postmortem. As far as method, hold on to your hats. Or heads."  
Edrisa unwrapped the scarf from around the victim's neck before pulling her head right off the body.  
"She was decapitated? That cut is..." Malcolm looked up at me clearly very excited.  
"Incredibly precise. I know." Edrisa beamed at us.  
"What does it mean?" JT asked.  
"Well, it means we can rule out a crime of passion. This was... controlled, practiced. No detail overlooked. This was an execution."  
"This is your version of things looking up?" Dani sighed looking at Malcolm.  
"It is actually. Not for Millicent but..." Malcolm smirked at me.  
"Why don't you ride back with them? I want to go see Gil." I told him as we walked towards the parking lot.  
"Are you okay?" He asked stopping to look at me.  
"Yeah, it's just weird being back without him here." I answered looking at him.  
"I know. I'll see you back at the station." He leaned down to kiss me.  
"I love you."  
"I love you, Lily." Malcolm said as I walked away from him.  
"Don't go too easy on him. I need him back strong." I told the physical therapist walking into the hospital room.  
"How do you keep getting in here?" Gil chuckled putting his jacket on.  
"Come on, Gil. I'm the most powerful person in New York. You think a global pandemic is going to stop me from checking in on you?" I teased sitting down across from him.  
"You look dressed for work." He remarked.  
"I went to a crime scene with Malcolm and Major Crimes this morning." I nodded.  
"There's something wrong." He observed.  
"It's weird working a scene with them without you." I sighed.  
"I'll be back any day now." He said gently.  
"I didn't... Don't rush it. Certainly not on my account. You got stabbed. Multiple surgeries. I mean, you almost..."  
"So did you." He reminded me.  
I sighed and looked away from him.  
"Hey. It's me, Lily. I'm good." He smiled at me.  
My phone rang ruining the moment.  
"It's my danger prone fiancé." I chuckled before answering the phone.  
"Hey. I need you to take me out to see my father." He said.  
"Why?" I asked.  
"We think the victim was decapitated by an actual guillotine. I think my father knows who bought it in '96." He explained.  
"Okay. I'll be right there." I sighed.  
"Hey. I love you." He said.  
"I love you too."  
I looked up at Gil after I hung up the phone.  
"I guess we're going to see Martin."  
"Isn't he in Hoosegow?" He asked.  
"Not anymore apparently. Something about saving inmates from COVID or something."  
"Great..." Gil sighed.  
"Don't worry, I've got him." I reminded him.  
"I know you do. I just worry. Dani said he's been more 'Brightish' than usual?"  
"It's my first day back. He's seemed relatively normal to me but I know that not knowing where Nicholas was bothered him."  
"I saw that they found his body." Gil nodded.  
"Yeah." I nodded absently.  
"Go on. You know he'll go alone if you don't."  
"Yes, he will."  
I hugged him before leaving.  
"Malcolm. Lilian. It's so good to see..."  
A man sitting behind a second bed near where Martin's desk used to be blew a raspberry cutting him off.  
"Who's this?" Malcolm asked wrapping his arm protectively around me.  
"Sorry. Where are my manners? Malcolm. Lilian, Jerry. Jerry, Malcolm and Lilian. Jerry here is my new roommate. Good stuff, Jer. Good stuff. I'm in hell. Hell." Martin moved closer to whisper at us.  
"Maybe we should reschedule." Malcolm suggested looking down at me.  
"But why? Oh, no, we're back together. Finally able to really talk. Commiserate about you know what." Martin protested.  
"Actually, we're here on a case."  
"Are you kidding? I've waited months for this. Come on, partners. I see they found his body."  
"Stop talking." I hissed glancing over at Jerry who stared at me then licked his lips.  
"Jerry? Oh, please, he's a moron."  
"Our victim was decapitated. The killer used an antique guillotine. I'm thinking it was the one sold in '96." Malcolm pushed sensing my discomfort.  
"Well, your theory is sound. It's the only working guillotine in the tristate area." Martin agreed.  
"Good. Who won it? Where is it?" I asked.  
Malcolm held onto my shoulder moving around me so he stood between me and Jerry.  
"Nope. Can't. Not feeling it." Martin shook his head.  
"What? What are you not feeling?" Malcolm looked at his father incredulously.  
"Appreciated. We were partners. The three of us."  
I looked up at Malcolm when his arm tightened around me only to find his face twisted; a flashback plaguing his mind.  
"I don't want to talk about it." Malcolm hissed at his father.  
"I totally agree. We should be singing about it, not whispering for Jerry. Like father, like..."  
"Don't say that! Never say that." Malcolm exclaimed cutting him off.  
"Malcolm." I said his name to soothe him.  
"Oh, I'm sorry, Jer. I'm sorry. Shh." Martin turned to Jerry when he started fussing.  
"Note taken. I won't gush. But I got to ask. Estonia? How did you do that?"  
"I know a guy." I answered vaguely.  
"It's our turn. Who bought..." Malcolm pushed at his father.  
"The guillotine. Right, fine. Yes. Ugh. Give me a pen." Martin sighed frustratedly.  
Malcolm pulled his small notepad and a pen out of his jacket's inner pocket and handed it to Martin.  
"He's a strange fellow, this collector." Martin muttered looking at me.  
"You think he's a killer?" I asked.  
"Well, anybody can be a killer. Not anyone uses a guillotine. You're looking for a student of the fatal arts. Start with him." Martin looked between us.  
A flying shoe struck Malcolm in the side of the face.  
"Malcolm!" I gasped pulling him to look at me as he grabbed his face.  
"My boy! Mr. David!" Martin tried to worry over him.  
"We should go." Malcolm wrapped his arm back around me to lead me out.  
"No. Don't let Jerry spoil our good time. Stay a little longer! We're just getting to the good stuff! No! No! No!" Martin called after us as we walked out into the hallway.  
"Are you okay?" I asked as Malcolm leaned against the hood of my car.  
"I'm fine. Startled me, is all. I'd be more upset if he'd hit you." He smiled up at me.  
I shook my head and kissed him.  
"We should go check this guy out, huh?" I asked looking down at the notepad still in his hand.  
"I think we should." He nodded.  
"Alright. I'll call Ashlyn to get an address."  
"Blackwell." Ashlyn answered the phone.  
"Hey, Ash. Are you busy?" I asked.  
"Nope. What do you need?" She asked.  
"I need an address for Izzy Collins." I said.  
"No problem. It's 1529 South Windsor in Queens." She answered after a moment.  
"Thank you, Ash."  
"Anything for you, Lily." I finally heard the smile in her voice.  
Dani met us at Izzy's home just before we made contact.  
"Yes? Wow! You're gorgeous." He said looking me up and down.  
"I'm Dr. Lilian Russell, perhaps you've heard of me?"  
"Heard of you? I practically worship you. Come in, friends. Apologies, for the mess. Just flew back this morning. Workers were supposed to be done with the new dungeon, but... guess not."  
"The new dungeon?" Dani asked him.  
"Yeah. For sex." He said matter-of-factly.  
"So, what can I do for you?"  
"We've come to see your guillotine. A woman was decapitated last night." I answered.  
"Come on. Got my toys back this way."  
Izzy lead us into the house and down the hallway and into a back room.  
"Ah. There's my gilly." He pointed us towards a large guillotine in the center of the room.  
"Wow." Malcolm mused.  
"She's a beaut. Must be 1400 pounds?"  
"1600." Izzy said beaming.  
"Too heavy for our killer to move." Dani muttered.  
"Maybe they didn't move it." Malcolm answered.  
"Izzy, could you turn the lights off for us?" I asked.  
"Anything for you. Give me just a minute to find the switch."  
"This will pick up any blood spatter." I sprayed the blade along with the Lunette with a pocket sized bottle of Luminol.  
"Bright, Can I ask you a personal question?" Dani stuttered drawing my gaze.  
"Uh-huh." Malcolm muttered his eyes still on me.  
"What's up with your mom and Gil?"  
I forced myself to not laugh.  
"Uh, nothing. Something. I don't know." Malcolm looked over at her.  
"For the cocky profiler, you sure got blinders when it comes to your family." Dani sighed.  
"Well, with my family, blinders are required." Malcolm winked at me.  
"Found it!" Izzy called and lights clicked off.  
The guillotine lit up like a damn Christmas tree.  
"Guess we found our murder weapon." I sighed.  
"What the hell? Is that blood?" Izzy asked coming back around the corner.  
"Izzy, where were you last night?" Dani asked.  
"On a jet. There were a dozen people to confirm it." He looked between us.  
"Do you hear that?" Malcolm asked suddenly looking at me.  
I paused and heard movement below us.  
"What's under us?" I asked.  
"Sex dungeon. Why?" He asked.  
"Show us." I insisted.  
Izzy lead us down a flight of stairs to a large brick wall.  
"Bloody hell. Where'd this come from?" He exclaimed.  
"Someone's back there." I said.  
We heard movement from behind the wall.  
"Why is someone back there?" Dani asked.  
"I think it's an immurement. Another classic execution. The victim is entombed alive and left to die a slow death." Malcolm explained.  
"Wonderful." I sighed.  
Malcolm reached over and grabbed a pipe, slamming it into the wall.  
"This reminds me of something rather uncomfortable." I muttered watching him break the wall down.  
"Malcolm, what are you... Sure. Go ahead. Crawl right in." I sighed watching him disappear into the dungeon.  
"Hello? Anyone there?" Malcolm's voice called.  
He cried out drawing me towards the hole in the wall.  
"Hello, Boyd." He said then looked up at me as I looked into the room at him laying sprawled on the floor.  
"It ain't right. It ain't right!" A man with matted dark hair screamed at us.  
His wrists in chains attached to the brick wall behind him.  
"Found Boyd Hicks, Millie's boyfriend. He's alive. Call the EMTs. Get bolt cutters. And water. Lots of it." Malcolm explained.  
"Dani, go." I told her before climbing into the dungeon.  
"Izzy, come with me." Dani pulled him along with her.  
"Help is on the way." Malcolm told Boyd as I helped him to his feet.  
"Liar. You're a liar." Boyd spit at him.  
Malcolm stood between me and Boyd protectively.  
"You're experiencing psychosis brought on by malnourishment and dehydration. Did you see who did this to you?" Malcolm continued.  
"It was you."  
"You think I'm a killer?" Malcolm looked back at me.  
"Malcolm." I whispered.  
"You got death all over you." Boyd hissed at him.  
I saw something flip behind Malcolm's eyes.  
"Maybe I am a killer. A justice killer. You're here because you and Millie did a very bad thing back in Texas. You killed her husband." Malcolm moved and picked up a pair of leather gloves.  
"Malcolm." I cautioned.  
"Trust me."  
"I didn't. I never..." Boyd muttered.  
"What do we think Izzy plays in his sex dungeon? Huh." Malcolm looked at me turning on the music.  
"Don't lie to me, Boyd." Malcolm picked up a leather flogger.  
"Justice must be served!" He slammed the flogger against the head of a massage table next to him.  
I bit my lip.  
It shouldn't have turned me on but damn, it did.  
"No, you're right. I'm not really a whips-and-flogging type of guy."  
"Now, that's what I'm talking about." He picked up a nail gun.  
"So, why did you kill her husband? Whoa! Hair trigger on this. Sorry, Boyd." Malcolm shot a nail from a nail gun into the wall near Boyd.  
"I told you. I told you." Boyd muttered before Malcolm shot another nail towards him.  
"Okay, okay, he cheated on her, and Millie, she tried to get away, but he said that he'd see her dead before she got a dime. That miserable old bastard, he deserved to die." Boyd admitted.  
"So that's why I killed her quickly. Painlessly. But I'm torturing you because you did something worse. Hold that thought. I love these." Malcolm picked up a circular saw.  
"Oh! Please! No! No! Okay, it was the caterer. It was the caterer." Boyd exclaimed.  
"The kid they arrested for your murder." Malcolm nodded.  
"It was those cops, pinning the murder on some kid barely out of high school." Boyd explained.  
"What happened to the kid?" Malcolm pushed.  
"Please let me go." Boyd looked at me.  
"Tell me, Boyd." Malcolm pulled his attention away from me.  
"It's Texas, man. They executed him."  
"You let an innocent man die in your place. That's it. That's why I have to kill you."  
Malcolm leaned forward with the circular saw.  
"Bright!" Dani called his name looking at me incredulously.  
"Oh, you're back. I was freeing him. You're welcome, Boyd." Malcolm looked between Dani and Boyd.  
"Oh, I should take that. Hello?" Malcolm said answering his ringing phone  
"I have never once called you that."  
"What was he doing?" Dani asked me.  
"Right. Got it. Not gonna do it." Malcolm said.  
"Must be his mom. It's called roleplaying. It's a profiling technique. He puts himself in the shoes of the killer in order to learn more about him. It's a little extreme but he got a confession out of it." I shrugged.  
"Right. Your visit. That's why you're trying on dresses. I can hear the hangers, Mumzie." Malcolm said with a sigh.  
"Mumzie?" I wrinkled my forehead.  
"I gotta go." Malcolm said loudly into the phone.  
"'More Brightish than usual'?" Malcolm said walking up to us.  
"Can you blame me?" She asked.  
"You knew having Lily sidelined was hard for me."  
"I want Millie's lawyer, Natalie. Someone from back home." Boyd said when the paramedics handcuffed him to the stretcher.  
"Did we know that Natalie Barba was from Texas?" Dani asked.  
"No, we did not." Malcolm shook his head.  
"Just so you know, power tools will not be allowed in our bedroom. That flogger action though." I winked at my love before walking our of the dungeon.  
Malcolm lead Dani and JT into the conference room I sat in after JT finished interrogating Natalie.  
"Natalie is a justice seeker, but for her, that means clearing her brother's name, not murder. Our killer is after a different kind of justice. They're handing out death sentences like a judge, or... We should run down everyone involved in the case. Judge, prosecutors, even the jury. Millie and Boyd made them all complicit in Diego Vasquez's death." Malcolm spoke up touching the printed newspaper article on the execution.  
"I'll check Texas DCJ. Is there anyone else we should find? Warden? Sheriff?" Dani asked.  
"Yes. Add them and everyone who..." Malcolm paused.  
"What happened, his brain break?" JT asked.  
"Just wait." I held my hand up.  
"We've been trying to solve a series of execution-style murders. What if the killer is the actual executioner? A student of the fatal arts." Malcolm looked at me.  
"That would make sense." I nodded.  
"If he found out about Natalie's investigation, he would know that he killed an innocent man. For his justice to be served, Millie and Boyd have to die."  
"That's means and motive, but it'll take time to get his name from Texas, then we gotta find him." JT said.  
"I might have another way." Malcolm looked at me.  
"I'm going to hate this, aren't I?" I sighed.  
"Here's the truth, off the record. We know that Natalie Barba didn't kill Millicent Lee, but she's agreed to work with us." Malcolm explained to Ainsley after she'd interviewed JT on Natalie Barba/Vasquez's arrest.  
"We're looking for a justice seeker. If he hears we've got the wrong person, he'll have to contact us." He continued.  
"And you'll contact me?" Ainsley asked.  
"Of course. I'm a good big brother." He sighed leaning into me.  
"The best. You saved me. Risked everything, and you haven't been the same since." She looked at him then at me.  
"Jessica?" I answered the phone as I walked to the car in my parking garage at the FBI office.  
"Did you know that Dani thinks it's my fault that Gil was stabbed that night?" She asked.  
"No. I didn't know that. Are you sure that's what she meant?" I asked.  
"What about that Jackie thought that the Whitly's are cursed?" She pushed.  
"Also, no. I'll talk to Gil when I get a chance. I'm just about to head home. I had to pick up some files from the office."  
My phone beeped with an incoming call.  
"Malcolm's calling. I have to go."  
"What did you do?" I asked him.  
"Babe. I'm in trouble. Wait for backup." He said.  
"Oh, like you do?" I asked.  
"I love you. No matter what happens." He said.  
"Malcolm!" I called his name throwing my car in reverse.  
"What are you doing here?" Malcolm's voice asked.  
"I was watching Izzy's place. Then you showed up. You found the guillotine. Found Boyd's immurement. Got me thinking, this is a man I've got to meet." A voice I didn't know answered.  
"Now what?"  
"You have the wrong person. Natalie Barba didn't kill Millie. Let her go."  
"Problem is, she looks good for this murder. Just like her brother did back in Texas. You remember him, Tom? The innocent man you executed? That's why you murdered Millie, tortured Boyd. They made you a murderer."  
"This scimitar is exquisite."  
The weapons wall... Fuck.  
I added Dani to the call just before flipping on my siren and flooring it.  
"Thanks. The weight's a little off-balance. Affects the swing."  
"You use this?"  
"No. Of course not. Nobody actually uses a scimitar."  
"Now that is a work of art. Nothing else compares to Norse craftsmanship. Tenth century?"  
"Ninth, technically. Not to be that guy."  
"I'm only gonna say this one more time. Let... Natalie... go."  
"I'm sorry, Tom. This doesn't fit your profile. You're obsessed with justice. That's why you're not gonna hurt me. I'm innocent."  
"About that. I've been watching you, Malcolm. Even followed you up to that asylum where they keep your old man. Got me thinking. Jailing Natalie. Visiting The Surgeon like a good son. Surrounding yourself with the tools of his trade. Maybe you're a killer just like him."  
"That's the third time this week. I must be giving off murdery vibes. Is it my hair?"  
"The way I see it, if I kill you with this executioner's axe, Natalie goes free."  
"Got to be honest, Tom. I wish that made a lot less sense."  
"I'm not a cruel man. I can make it quick."  
"Do I have last words?"  
"Of course."  
"All right. Last words. Um... I used to think I was nothing like my father. But that's not entirely true. Truth is my father is a part of me. I can't deny it. That's how I understand killers. I'm like you."  
"Malcolm Bright, I hereby sentence you to death."  
"Oh. Uh, sorry. One more thing. I never hung up the phone."  
"Damn it."  
"Which means that, well, you've confessed to a few murders."  
"I have another confession."  
"All you do is talk!"  
I heard the distinct sound of the axe splitting wood. Likely the desk.  
"I lied. I'm great with a scimitar. I'm serious. Ask anyone on the Harvard fencing team."  
"I'm gonna butcher you."  
Metal on metal impacts steadily increased my anxiety. My car couldn't move fast enough for me.  
Finally, I pulled up in front of the loft, threw the car in park and raced up the stairs with Dani directly behind me.  
"JT's on his way too." She whispered to me.  
I nodded and turned the doorknob before pushing the door open.  
Malcolm stood over a tall man with long grey hair laying on the floor in what was our living room. The scimitar still in his hand.  
"Baby? It's okay. Put the sword down now." I touched his hand causing him to look up at me.  
He let go of the sword so I could take the handle.  
Dani cuffed Tom and stood him up.  
"Hey, police! Don't move! Hey, hey." I heard a male voice from outside.  
"What the hell is that?" I muttered looking at Malcolm.  
"Hands up!" Another voice asked after a moment.  
"You heard him, okay? Hands up!" The first voice yelled.  
"Yo, I got my badge!" I heard JT's voice call before the sound of a body hitting the wall.  
I rushed out onto the landing.  
Below me a uniformed officer had JT pinned to the wall of the building next to ours with his forearm pressing against his throat.  
"Hey!" I called out running down the stairs, my badge in my hand.  
JT shoved the officer away from him and he fell to the pavement.  
I placed myself in between JT and the now enraged officer who tried to rush him.  
"Dr. Lilian Russell, Chief of New York's FBI office." I identified myself holding my badge in front of me.  
"Get that fake shit out of my face." The first officer smacked my badge out of my hand and swung on me hitting me squarely in the face.  
He then slammed a fist directly into my scar from the stab wound beneath my ribs. I screamed out in pain but forced my leg up to knee him.  
"Wait, wait! Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait! What are you doing? He's a detective!" Malcolm called running down the stairs.  
The officer fighting with me tossed me to the ground. Malcolm rushed forward standing between us.  
"Stop it. She identified herself. Did you even look at her badge?"  
"Don't move. Don't move. Hands up!" The second officer yelled.  
"My hands are up." JT said.  
"Stop! Stop, stop, stop! He's one of us! He's a cop!" Dani showed her badge standing in front of JT  
"I'm not... I'm not a threat."  
The EMTs insisted on taking me to the hospital because of the direct hit to my stab wound.  
After imaging I was released and returned to the precinct.  
"Just wait. This is gonna fall on me." JT said his voice shaking as I walked up to the conference room door.  
"You didn't do anything wrong." Malcolm reminded him.  
He stood with his hands on the back of a chair.  
"Doesn't matter. I know how this is gonna go." JT sighed shaking his head.  
"It doesn't have to. You tell them what happened, and we will back you up." Dani tried to soothe him.  
"They'll say I assaulted him. I'm done." JT said.  
"No, you're not." Gil said laying his hand on my shoulder from behind me.  
I moved to the side so he could pass me to stand in front of JT.  
"You've been running this unit like a pro, Tarmel. I know what happened tonight. And I got your back. So, you go home, you kiss that wife of yours and you tell her that you caught the bad guy. You're a good cop, JT. No matter what people say, those still exist. I'm looking at three of the best. And whatever Bright is." Gil smiled at Malcolm.  
"Are you okay?" Malcolm asked me handing me my badge.  
"My hero." I smiled stepping into his arms..  
"I'm fine. It's cowards like that that are giving cops a bad name." I shook my head.  
"They're not cops, Lily. They're racist cowards."  
"I'm taking both of their badges. I'm going to make sure these charges stick."  
"Oh, I know you are. You always protect your own." He smiled at me.  
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" I asked as Malcolm and I walked hand in hand down the hallway to Martin's cell.  
"I never am." He admitted.  
"Where's Jerry?" Malcolm asked as we walked in.  
"I took care of him. No, I literally took care of him. His doctors took my suggestion to try electroconvulsive therapy." He explained when we just looked at him.  
"I don't understand." I shook my head.  
"You don't want to. But all's well that ends well. Jerry's off in the infirmary getting better, which means it's just us three. Let's talk turkey. By which I mean murder." Martin smiled at us.  
"I'm not feeling it." Malcolm muttered beside me.  
"I noticed. What's wrong?" Martin asked his son in a rare show of concern.  
"We covered up a murder. Violated everything we believe in. We stop killers. We don't help them." Malcolm shook his head.  
"Ainsley killed a powerful man with powerful friends. She wouldn't have survived that night without you both. She's not like us."  
"Said the serial killer." Malcolm growled.  
"Said the father. Will you do something for me? Come closer. To the line." Martin looked between us.  
Malcolm looked at me before we stepped forward towards the line.  
"What do you..." Malcolm stopped short when his father grabbed ahold of our joined hands.  
"Thank you. Thank you for saving my little girl. You realize that, don't you? You saved your sister. Please, don't torture yourself for that." Martin looked more at Malcolm in that moment than me.  
He knew I was the one who told Malcolm to call his father. He knew I knew exactly who Ainsley would face if it got out what she'd done.  
"Or maybe that's not it. Maybe there's another reason that you're full of so much pain." Martin looked closely at him.  
"What are you talking about?" I shook my head.  
"Getting away with murder. Walking the streets, knowing the truth. It's intoxicating. Tell me your imagination isn't stoked, knowing what it takes, what you are now capable of."  
"Stop it, Martin." I growled.  
"People think we're crazy. No one in their right mind would be a killer. The thing is, they don't know the truth. Murder is the ultimate thrill. Maybe you're all torn up inside because getting away with murder didn't feel bad at all. No. It felt good."  
"Stop it! Can't you see how you're hurting him? Don't you care at all?" I asked glaring at him.  
"Come on. Let's go home."  
"What if he's right?" Malcolm asked as we got into my car.  
"He's not. He never has been. Ainsley killed Endicott because he stepped towards you; to protect you. We cleaned it up to protect her. End of story." I insisted.  
"I hate that he gets to me like this."  
"Baby, he has spent your whole life manipulating you. It's time we focus on helping JT. On our wedding."  
"You're right. Of course you're right."


	4. Speak of the Devil

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When a priest is found murdered in his place of worship, Lily must help Malcolm deal with its effect on his own trauma. Together they meet with Martin and Friar Pete to gain insight into the killers motives. Meanwhile, Lily is stuck in the middle between Jessica and Gil. Lily, Malcolm, Dani and Gil rally behind JT, urging him to speak to his union rep about the discrimination he's been facing.

"Are you sure you're up for this?" Malcolm asked as we walked hand in hand up to Jessica's front door.  
My knee length emerald green faux wrap dress with 3/4 length sleeves tickled the back of my calves as we walked.  
"Are you?" I teased nudging him.  
We walked through the front door and through the foyer towards the dining room just in time for Jessica's housekeeper to shut the doors in our faces.  
"What are you..." Malcolm asked looking over at me.  
"I told you this would happen." I shook my head.  
"Malcolm Lucas, why have you not been going to therapy?" Jessica asked from behind us.  
"She used your middle name. You're so fucked, my love."  
"Good morning, Mother. Nice ambush." Malcolm said glaring at me as we turned to look at his mother.  
"I'm worried. I haven't gotten a bill from Gabrielle in months." Jessica stepped towards us.  
"I've taken a break from therapy." Malcolm sighed.  
"Lily, you're okay with this?" She asked.  
"Of course not. I've told him as much but he's a grown man. Contrary to popular belief he does not do everything I say."  
"What's happened, Malcolm? You can tell me." She practically pleaded with her son.  
"It's nothing. I'm fine. Just the life of a serial killers son... it's a psycho rollercoaster."  
"But why?" Jessica pushed.  
"You can't understand." Malcolm shook his head, his hand searching for mine.  
"Try me. I did marry your father."  
"I know you want to help me. To help us but you can't... Not with this." Malcolm squeezed my hand searching for strength.  
"You are supporting him, right?" She asked me.  
"Every second of every day." I nodded.  
"Okay." She nodded reluctantly and released us from her faux tomb foyer.  
Malcolm's phone rang just after his mother left us in the foyer.  
"Why are you calling me?" Malcolm sighed into the phone and I knew that it must be Martin on the other end.  
"Let's see. He hardly recognizes the face he sees in the mirror every morning. The only reason he sleeps at all is because of the woman sleeping next to him and for some reason his psychopathic, narcissist father can't seem to leave him alone. I think Mother is starting to sense something." Malcolm looked at me.  
"No. I'm not talking about this." Malcolm hung his phone up with a sigh.  
His fingers trembled as I took both of his hands in mine.  
"We are going to get though this." I assured him.  
"Together."  
"I can do anything with you by my side." He smiled weakly at me.  
Together we walked into the dining room. Ainsley stood on the other side of the table seemingly looking at her reflection in the side of a large knife.  
"What are you doing?" Malcolm asked.  
"Setting the table?" Ainsley looked at her brother confused.  
"Oh my God! Are these... Is this what you used?" She whispered.  
"The family silver?" Malcolm chuckled.  
"No. I'm just shocked to see you doing chores." He teased with a sigh.  
"Hysterical." Ainsley narrowed her eyes at him.  
Then she sighed.  
"Isn't it strange how little I remember from that night?" She looked at me.  
"Not really. It's dissociative amnesia. It's just a way your mind protects you from trauma." I answered gently.  
"I remember when he got here. Texting Malcolm to come home. He wouldn't stop telling me the things he'd done to you, to Malcolm, to dad. Then Malcolm got here but then there's a gap. Then you were standing in front of Malcolm covered in blood and I was covered in blood."  
"You don't want to remember anything else, Anis. Trust me." I smiled at her.  
She nodded at me looking unsure.  
"Let's talk about something a million times more fun. I'm moving back to my apartment." She announced sitting down.  
"That's great. Did mom freak out?" Malcolm asked pulling my chair out for me.  
"Thank you." I whispered sitting down.  
"No, which actually freaked me out."  
"Malcolm, I'm so glad you're here. Your sister has a mountain of clothes to move and I am in charge of the boxes." Jessica said joining us carrying the first two champagne flutes holding orange juice.  
"You're helping her move?" Malcolm shook his head bewildered.  
"Yes. I want to help her just as I wanted to help you." She glared at her son.  
"Okay. What is it?" Ainsley asked.  
"Something's changed." Malcolm agreed.  
"She stopped playing the piano too." Ainsley told us.  
"Oh? Is there still vodka in your orange juice?" Malcolm asked.  
I probably should have told Malcolm about what Dani said to Gil but we didn't need added tension in our team. I certainly hadn't found time to talk to Gil or Dani about the situation.  
"All right. Enough. What do you two think you're doing?" Jessica looked at me, sadness hiding behind her eyes.  
"We're meddling, obviously." Ainsley smirked at her mother.  
"Please. I don't meddle. I mother." She countered.  
"This sudden interest in our well-being wouldn't have anything to do with you and a certain lieutenant we all know?" Malcolm correctly deduced, of course.  
"Gil?" Ainsley looked at Malcolm scandalously.  
Jessica shook her head and scoffed.  
"You and Gil are..." Ainsley turned her attention back to her mother.  
"Are you mad? There is nothing going on between me and Gil Arroyo." She scoffed again.  
"I don't believe you." Malcolm winked at me as his phone rang.  
"It's Gil." He announced looking at me.  
"Oh. Ask him about mom." Ainsley asked as we stood up to leave.  
"Does he let you wear his turtlenecks?" She asked her mother.  
"Ainsley. Enough." Jessica cautioned but I couldn't help giggle.  
"Malcolm." She called his name.  
"Hmm?" He looked at her playfully.  
"Not a word or the NYPD will be investigating your murder next." She warned.  
Then she glanced at me. I knew Gil had been calling her. I really needed to take the time to talk to both Gil and Dani. With Malcolm and I's wedding in less than two months, we needed peace.  
"Gil says there's been a murder at the Catholic church." Malcolm said as we got back into my vehicle.  
"Well, if murder wasn't already against one of the ten commandments..." I muttered.  
"I know you're hiding something from me." He said after a moment.  
"You know what happened between mom and Gil."  
"I know her side of it, yes. I haven't talked to Gil about it yet." I answered honestly.  
"They really care about one another." He mused.  
"I know they do." I sighed.  
"How can I help?" He asked.  
"I don't know yet." I admitted.  
"For now, let's catch a killer."  
JT stood in the grass outside the church with his back to us as we walked up hand in hand.  
"JT?" Malcolm called his name.  
"We've been calling. How are you?"  
"I'm fine... Busy." JT answered unconvincingly.  
"Are you sure? Every time I say 'I'm fine' I'm usually lying."  
"I don't want to talk about it. I'm already on edge with this creepy-ass case."  
JT lead us up the church's stairs into the nave. In the center of the sanctuary a man in black Catholic robes hung from his ankles. I could see pools of blood under him as we walked up.  
"Holy..." Malcolm began to mutter as we walked up the stairs.  
"Watch it, Bright." Gil cautioned harshly.  
"The restraints, Holy Water, and a Crucifix... I'm not religious but this looks awfully..."  
"Ritualistic." I nodded when he looked at me.  
"This looks to be every ounce of his blood volume."  
"The victim is Father Ramon Reyes, age fifty six. He's been with the church for thirty years." Gil explained.  
"It's amazing." Edrisa called from her place on a hydraulic lift.  
"He's been expertly exsanguinated. Forty four precise stab wounds."  
"Forty four..." I mused almost to myself.  
"Gil. This is Sister Agnes. She found the body and called it in." JT said leading a young woman into the nave.  
She stood before us with her head down in Catholic nun robes.  
"We are sorry for your loss, Sister. Can you walk us through what happened?" I asked watching Malcolm walk around the scene.  
"I had been assisting Professor Shaw in restoring the Cathedral's paintings. I was downstairs and when I came back up I saw this... this evil." She explained.  
"Sister Agnes, did Father Reyes perform exorcisms?" Malcolm asked walking up next to me.  
"Malcolm?" I sighed.  
"What? This is the Rite of Exorcism and it's well used. So, answer the question, Sister?" He pushed handing me the book.  
"I can't talk about this." Sister Agnes shook her head.  
"That's not a, 'no'."  
"Our killer left a note." Edrisa told us.  
"The blood makes a symbol."  
"What does it say?" I called up to the only one who could fully see it.  
"Looks like Hebrew or..." Malcolm began.  
"Aramaic. It says, 'Abaddon'." Sister Agnes said looking directly at me.  
"Abaddon the Destroyer? The angel of the abyss from Revelations?" I asked to which she nodded.  
"So, now we know who the killer is." Malcolm said still looking at the symbol.  
"Who is it?" Gil asked.  
"Oh, you know... the Devil." Malcolm shrugged.  
I glared across the room at my fiancé.  
I felt Sister Agnes' eyes on my back as Malcolm and I stood with Gil and Professor Shaw.  
"Did you know Father Reyes well, Professor?" I asked trying to focus on him.  
"Just in passing. Please, call me Jonah." He answered.  
"You're not a member of the church?" Gil asked.  
"No. I'm a conservator. I'm just helping Sister Agnes preserve the paintings. We've been working on Madonna and The Child the past few months."  
"Did you know Father Reyes was an exorcist?" Malcolm asked.  
There had to be a reason he fixated on the exorcism aspect of this murder.  
"People come and go. You hear things..."   
"Thank you, Jonah. Excuse us." Gil said.  
"Archbishop Argento?" Gil lead us over to a man in a black priest suit.  
"Officers. Thank you for coming. I've only just heard myself." He said nodding at Gil.  
"Dr. Russell? Does the FBI have an interest in this case?" He asked looking at me.  
"Not specifically. I'm working as a criminal psychiatry consultant with the NYPD on this case." I answered.  
"Of course. I was just surprised to see you here." He nodded at me.  
"We're very sorry for your loss." Gil cut in.  
"I am overcome but I trust in faith to help us find the light."  
"Outside of faith alone, we need to see Father Reyes' records. Anyone he's exorcised is a suspect in his murder." Malcolm added.  
"I am truly sorry but I cannot release Father Reyes' records nor discuss his work. They contain confidential information. You understand." He looked between Gil and I.  
"Of course, Your Eminence. Thank you." Gil nodded.  
"What was that? He just obstructed justice and you thanked him for it!" Malcolm exclaimed.  
"I'm establishing a rapport, Bright. That's how you get things done especially with a church. Have some faith." Gil said shaking his head.  
"Nietzsche said that faith means not wanting to know the truth." Malcolm countered.  
"Nietzsche, hmm? Kid, what is going on in that head of yours?"  
"Nothing. I'm fine." Malcolm shook his head.  
Liar. I thought to myself.  
"Then give me a profile."  
"Right. Consistent wounds speak to a methodology, and the bloodletting... This killer was performing a ritual of his own. Obviously, our demon did not want to be exorcised." Malcolm looked at me.  
"We're not looking for a real demon." Gil said obviously.  
"No, but what if our killer identifies as one? They could be suffering from possession trance disorder. It's a kind of dissociative disorder. The symptoms present like possession." I answered.  
"How does bloodletting figure into this?" Gil asked.  
"We're not sure. Not yet. I do know another killer who bled his victim dry." Malcolm said.  
Great... Back to Claremont. I sighed to myself.  
"It's just beautiful out here." Martin sighed as Malcolm and I walked out into Claremont's courtyard.  
"Thank you both for coming."  
"Smells like urine." Malcolm remarked.  
"That'd be the urine." Martin nodded.  
"After you called I had a splendid idea. We have so many special minds here. Why not call in an expert?"  
Martin pointed our attention over to an inmate dressed in a brown friar's robe across the yard.  
"Who's that?" I asked as Malcolm wrapped his arm protectively around me.  
"Friar Pete. He went on a killing spree after being ejected from his monastery for his extreme views. The Friar Flayings. I've brought him in to consult." Martin answered grinning.  
"Wonderful." Malcolm sighed.  
Friar Pete stared ominously at us as he walked over. He showed no signs of stopping as he closed the distance forcing us to back up a couple steps. Malcolm flinched as the metal of his chain clanked forcing him to stop walking.  
"Care to confess your sins." He asked.  
"Oh! That's a wonderful idea! You two should talk. Lilian and I..." Martin exclaimed.  
"We're only here to solve a murder." Malcolm cut him off.  
"An exorcist was bled to death. Forty four precise incisions." I continued.  
"It's an ominous number forty. Jesus spent forty days in the wilderness fending off the devil. As for four..." Pete said watching Malcolm and I.  
"Well, perhaps the four humors, considering the cuts." Martin added.  
"How about Hans von Gersdorff?" Pete suggested.  
"Of course." Martin exclaimed gleefully  
"Hans von who?" Malcolm asked shaking his head.  
"Gersdorff. 15th-century surgeon who determined the 44 points by which a human would best be bled." Martin explained.  
"He goes into great detail in his Field Guide to Surgery. The illustrations are lovely." Pete added.  
"Oh, medicine has nothing to do with it." Malcolm sighed.  
I wasn't so sure.  
"The killer is obsessed with ritual. Catholic ritual."  
"Oh, I'm surprised you don't see the connection. Lilian does." Martin winked at me.  
"Well, they used to go hand-in-hand. For centuries, exorcisms were prescribed to patients suffering from the bubonic plague, mental illness, lead poisoning." Pete told him.  
"Guys, the victim didn't die 600 years ago. There's no connection between exorcism and medicine today."   
"Not true. Today the church can't perform its rite without permission."  
"Well, isn't that helpful? Permission from whom, Friar Pete?"  
"A physician, Dr. Whitly."  
"They're right, aren't they?" Malcolm asked as we walked back out to my car.  
"Yes. I'm afraid they are." I sighed.  
"Do you think Gil can get the Archbishop to open the files?"  
"If he can't, Lord knows I can." I sighed.  
JT joined us at the home of a young man referred to Father Reyes for "untreatable" mental issues. He was the last person Reyes performed an exorcism on before his death.  
"A Catholic neurologist recommended his patient see Father Reyes as a last resort. This isn't about evil. It's about a sickness. The doctor said his patient Norman is untreatable..." Malcolm explained as we walked towards the front door.  
I looked up at the large Victorian style house.  
Norman... wonderful. As if I wasn't already getting creepy Psycho vibes.  
"Violent, disturbed and possessed. Sounds plenty evil to me." JT glared at Malcolm.  
"Ah. You must be from the church." An older woman answered the door.  
"Ma'am, I'm Dr. Lilian Russell. I'm a psychiatrist with the FBI. This is Malcolm Bright and Detective JT Tarmel. We work together. We're here because Father Reyes was murdered and your son Norman was the last one on his schedule." I answered, removing the 'Criminal' from my job title as to put her at ease.  
"Yes, of course, come in." She stepped aside to allow us inside.  
"He stays up in the attic. Right this way."  
"How long has Norman lived up here, ma'am?" Malcolm asked as we followed her up the stairs.  
"Five years now. He wanted his own space. We agreed it was for the best." She answered.  
"Does he take any medication?" I asked as we came to a heavy wooden door.  
"Not anymore." She said before knocking on the door.  
"Norman? It's Mother. You have visitors. Can they come in, Norman?" She called gently.  
Yes. Definitely a Psycho relationship going on here.  
"All right, Mother." A small male voice called back.  
"Whatever you do... stay inside the lines." She said opening the door.  
Slow, eerie piano music filled the room. On the floor, intricate lines of salt created boxes and walkways.  
"Hi, Norman. I'm Malcolm, this is Lily and JT." Malcolm made the introductions.  
"Hello, Norman." I said gently.  
"What's up, man?" JT greeted him.  
"Mother said you were coming." Norman said not turning to look at us.  
"Good. We're trying to find out who killed Father Reyes. Do you know anything about that? When was the last time you saw each other?" I asked.  
"Last week. He came to the house."  
"Do you ever go and see him? If I lived up here, I'd sneak out that window all the time." Malcolm added.  
"No. No, there's no salt out there. Father Reyes told me I had to stay... here. The salt keeps him out." Norman said.  
"Who?" I asked.  
"The demon. Father Reyes shouts at him, but still... he finds me."  
"What does Father Reyes shout?" Malcolm asked.  
"'The power of Christ compels you!'" Norman spun around and shouted the words, likely just as Father Reyes had.  
"Excuse me. I have to practice." Norman turned back to the piano.  
"He's got to be the guy, right?" JT asked us.  
"I'm not sure." I shook my head.  
"Are you seeing what I'm seeing? Norman believes he's possessed." JT stared at me.  
"Okay, he's clearly mentally ill, but he doesn't leave this house. He won't even cross an inch of salt. I wonder what would happen..." Malcolm said.  
"Dude, you heard the lady. Don't." JT glared at him.  
"Malcolm, baby..." I sighed.  
"I have to test him. I have to cross this line." Malcolm said.  
"No, you really don't, Bright." JT sighed.  
I'd known Malcolm for twenty one years at this point. I knew he was going to do it. He really had to. He had to know.  
"Lily, you cannot be okay with this." JT looked at me as Malcolm took one step over the salt line.  
"I'm not. Have you tried telling him, 'no'?" I asked.  
"Do you have a favorite hymn? I know "You Are Near"..." Norman asked us.  
"See? Nothing happened." Malcolm looked back at us.  
"'There Was a Fountain Filled with Blood," "Hail Mary: Gentle...'" Norman stopped mid-sentence.  
"I knew it was you. You're a demon." He said suddenly.  
"Uh... No, Norman. I'm not a demon." Malcolm shook his head.  
"I could smell it on you the moment you walked in. You are like me. That's why you came here." Norman continued.  
"Malcolm..." I said his name.  
"What do you mean, I'm like you?" Malcolm asked.  
"You're a killer, too. I did it. I killed him." Norman exclaimed leaping off the piano bench and crawling across the floor on all fours.  
"Malcolm!" I called.  
"Bright, step back." JT instructed.  
"It's okay." Malcolm locked eyes with me.  
"Why did you kill Reyes?" He asked Norman.  
"He wanted it out, but it doesn't want out. He's in my blood. He's in your blood." Norman grabbed a lamp near him and leaped towards Malcolm just as he leaped back into the circle, grabbing ahold of me.  
"Malcolm Bright, always crossing the line." JT sighed at him.  
"One of these days you're going to give me a heart attack or a brain aneurysm or both." I slammed the palm of my hand against his chest as we waited for the ambulance to take Norman to the hospital.  
"I'm sorry." He pressed his lips to the top of my head.  
"You always say that, yet we always end up here." I teased.  
"Come on. Time for Gil to yell at us again." I pulled Malcolm back to my car.  
"JT just called from the hospital. Norman's sedated." Gil said standing across the table from where I sat with Malcolm's hands on my shoulders.  
"Does he remember confessing?" Dani asked standing next to Gil.  
"Probably not. Norman suffers from recurrent identity disturbances, voice changes, memory loss." Malcolm answered gently squeezing my shoulders.  
"Okay, now, what the hell do you have?" Gil exclaimed.  
"JT told us what happened. You provoked Norman."  
"I provoked Norman to test a theory." Malcolm explained.  
It occurred to me that he was forced to explain himself frequently despite us having worked here with them for over a year now.  
"That he's the killer? Norman ticks a lot of boxes. Father Reyes performed exorcisms on him for a year. That's plenty of time for him to learn that Aramaic. And time to develop motive." Gil shook his head.  
"It tracks." Dani agreed.  
"It doesn't." Malcolm insisted.  
"Are you serious? JT said the guy went full Linda Blair."  
"That's the problem. When Malcolm crossed the line of salt, it triggered Norman. He became frenzied, out of control. Father Reyes's murder displayed total control, precise incisions." I explained.  
"Right. If Norman was triggered by Father Reyes' exorcism, he couldn't perform the bloodletting." Malcolm agreed with me.  
"So we're looking for a possessed person with a steady hand? How does somebody learn medieval bloodletting?" Dani asked.  
"That I know. They read the manual." Malcolm took the book from my hands to hand it to Gil.  
"What the hell is this?" He asked.  
"My father gave it to us. Hans von Gersdorff's Field Guide to Surgery, from 1517. It's the how-to for the system of bloodletting our killer used. He must have read it. I know it sounds insane."  
"For this case? Not really. I mean, I interviewed a nun who knows Aramaic. Maybe she knows something about this, too." Dani nodded.  
"Lily and I need to talk to JT. Try to stay out of trouble." Gil told Malcolm.  
Malcolm leaned down to kiss me before following Dani out of the room.  
JT walked in shortly thereafter.  
"You give any thought to whether you want to make a statement?" Gil asked when JT sat down next to me.  
"I'm thinking I wait a beat. You know, let things shake out." JT's voice shook just slightly.  
"What things?" I asked gently.  
"Look, I know you've both got my back. But what about them? You think they'll play nice if I file a grievance against a fellow cop? I'm about to be a father, and I'm already looking over my shoulder now. If I escalate this, who's to say things don't get worse? Do you think I'm wrong?" JT shook his head.  
"Can I be straight? I don't know. Nothing about this is right." Gil sighed and I nodded.  
"We're all going to support you no matter what decision you make." I told him.  
"I know. Thank you. Both of you." JT nodded at us.  
"Go on back to work. Gil and I need to have a conversation." I smiled at JT.  
He nodded and got up, closing the door behind him.  
"What's up , Lily?" Gil asked looking at me confused.  
"Come sit down." I insisted.  
"What's wrong?" He sat down next to me in the chair JT just evacuated.  
"I know why you've been checking your phone extra today."  
"You know why Jessica's avoiding me?" He asked.  
"She's about to be my mother-in-law. There's not much I don't know." I nodded.  
"Gil... Jessica heard you talking to Dani in the hospital. She already feels so guilty about what happened that night. To hear Dani blames her too?" I shook my head.  
"Lily, I..."  
"Jackie thought the Whitly's are cursed? What do you think it'll do to Malcolm when he finds out? When I have to tell him? I can't keep it from him. He looked up to her as a second mother. So, did I. Then for you to agree with her? If he's cursed so am I." I sighed.  
"She saved me." Gil muttered.  
"I know she did. Martin destroyed them in more ways than one. They are each broken but you and I... They view us as their saviors. The only two people that stuck by them; that never judged them for the things beyond their control but..." I could feel myself getting emotional and paused.  
"Martin becoming The Surgeon and killing those twenty three people was not his only crime. He abused them without them even knowing it. It made them broken and vulnerable but not cursed. Then for Nicholas to come in and abuse them all over again." I paused again.  
"Now, her spirit is crushed because she truly loves you but she feels like you lied to her; to Malcolm. That it wasn't love you felt but pity."  
A knock came at the door.  
"Lily? Bright fell asleep." Dani called.  
"I'll be right there." I called back.  
"Just think about what I said, Gil. I have to go save my fiancé from his own mind."  
I stood up and walked out of the conference room.  
As I walked into the bullpen I noticed that Dani and all of the uniformed officers were in their body armor.  
"Oh, come on." I sighed walking over to where Malcolm sat with his head down on his folded arms on the desk.  
I sat on the desk next to him and gently touched the back of his hand. He shot up with a gasp and looked at me.  
"Oh, I was asleep." He looked at me with a small smile.  
"Yeah, we noticed." Dani said from behind me.  
"Why are you wearing body armor?" He looked at her.  
"Because you fell asleep. Your nightmares are kind of epic."  
I shook my head.  
"Apparently they don't trust me to keep you from bum rushing anyone." I smirked at him.  
"We should go home. Try to rest."  
"Let me come with you. We should talk." Dani looked at me.  
"You're right. We should." I nodded.  
Malcolm separated from Dani and I to make he and I a drink as we walked into the loft. I sat down on our couch.  
"I panicked. I was upset." Dani said sitting down next to me.  
"We all almost lost him. I almost lost my own life. There's only one person to blame for both of those things: Nicholas Endicott. Not him or me; not Jessica or Malcolm. Nicholas tried to end our lives. No one else. She heard you. Jessica. She knows what you think of her. If they're cursed then so am I."  
"Lily, I never meant..." Dani started.  
Then Malcolm came back into the room and handed me a glass of bourbon.  
"Thank you." I smiled at him.  
"You were right though. At least for me, when it comes to him there isn't anything I wouldn't do and if that makes me reckless..."  
I shrugged leaning back into Malcolm's arms.  
"Are you two sure you're not into this religious stuff? Could've fooled me." She motioned to a large painting on the wall behind us.  
"Come on. No one captures the destitution of the soul like Goya." Malcolm smirked at her.  
"It's creepy, Bright." Dani shook her head.  
"It's also staying here when the house is finished." I teased as he gently squeezed my waist playfully.  
"Well, Goya was actually quite the romantic. Of course, he went insane. All the best artists did. Their work destroyed them." Malcolm said.  
"Are you any different? You've been on edge lately, even for you. You want to talk about it?" Dani asked glancing between us.  
I knew that overall she meant well but the things she said in the hospital really hurt Jessica and Jessica was my family.  
"We're fine. Really." I answered not allowing Malcolm to lie again.  
"Hmm." She muttered clearly unconvinced.  
"How about you? It's bad out there." Malcolm asked over my shoulder.  
"It's always bad. Difference is people are paying attention. It's like they just realized that the world is racist and cops target black people. JT and me, we don't get a pass. I swear this job is gonna kill me. Like your painter."  
"Who, Goya? Well, the job didn't kill him. It was the lead in the paint." Malcolm chuckled then froze.  
"What is it?" I asked sitting up to turn to look at him.  
He got up off the couch and walked over to the painting.  
"Lead poisoning. From the paint. It causes dementia, paranoia, symptoms that manifest like..."  
"Possession. Sister Agnes and the professor, they're restoring old paintings. We have to get to the cathedral now." I finished his sentence.  
Gil and JT met us as we rushed up into the nave.  
"Archbishop Argento?" I called out leading our group towards them.  
"I can't believe you're here. We were just about to call." He looked at me.  
"What happened?" Gil asked from beside me.  
"It's Sister Agnes. She didn't show up for work today." Jonah answered his voice shaking.  
"Professor Shaw, the Madonna that you've been restoring, are you in contact with lead paint?" Malcolm asked.  
"Yes, but we wear masks and gloves. Why? I don't understand." He shook his head.  
"Sister Agnes could be suffering from paranoid delusions brought on by lead poisoning. She thinks she's possessed." Malcolm continued.  
As if on queue muffled bangs came from the distance but within the church.  
"What was that?" Dani asked.  
"It came from the crypt. But we're the only people here." Archbishop Argento told her.  
The crypt... Honestly?  
"Lily, Bright, stay with them. Dani, JT, you're with me. Let's go." Gil said before leading them away.  
"Jonah? She's going to be okay." Malcolm said sensing his anxiety.  
"I taught her. I taught her how to handle the paint. I did." Jonah replied.  
"We know, Jonah." I nodded.  
"Don't you outrank the lieutenant?" The Archbishop asked me.  
"Technically, yes. When I'm consulting I try not to step on any toes." I answered.  
"Lead poisoning. I didn't expect that. Poor Agnes." He said as we sat down on one of the pews.  
"Tell me, Your Grace. Do exorcisms ever work?" Malcolm asked.  
"In some cases, yes. Although... I don't take you for a believer. I know, Dr. Russell isn't." He answered.  
"I wish. I really do. To say, "The power of Christ compels you," and what's wrong disappears? Would make my life so much easier." Malcolm looked sadly at me.  
"Nothing's ever easy. Forget the prayers and the rites. Priests spend most of their time listening. Anything you want to discuss?"  
"I told her to use the mask, wear the gloves. Use the mask, wear the gloves. Use the mask... Told her, told her, I told her. I told her." Jonah's voice cut in.  
"Malcolm..." I muttered his name.  
"Is that the painting they've been working on?" Malcolm asked the Archbishop.  
"Yeah." He nodded.  
Malcolm stood up leaving us on the pew and walked over to the large covered painting to pull the sheet off.  
Underneath, the painting had been altered with black paint distorting the faces, making them look almost demonic.  
"He ruined it." Archbishop Argento stood up gawking at the painting.  
"It's Jonah. He's the one poisoned by the paint." Malcolm said looking at me.  
"Wait. Don't." Malcolm reached out towards the Archbishop when he made a move towards Jonah.  
"What?" He shook his head.  
"You need to go. We'll keep an eye on him." I said standing up next to Malcolm.  
"Okay." He nodded.  
"Father? Lock the doors behind you." Malcolm called before pulling out his phone.  
"Mr. David, I need emergency phone time." He said after a moment.  
"I need you to tell me everything you know about lead poisoning. Lily and I found the killer, and he's hallucinating because of the lead paint."  
"Malcolm." I muttered pulling my pistol from it's holster wrapped around my thigh just under my dress after I noticed that Jonah was no longer on the pew.  
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know that. But what I don't know is how to fix it. How can I help him, counteract the poison?" Malcolm locked eyes with me again.  
"Got it. And what if Lily and I are locked in the room with him?"  
Jonah appeared before us almost supernaturally.  
Malcolm pushed me behind him as Jonah approached us with a shard of glass in his hand.  
"Jonah, it's okay. You're hallucinating. All that old paint. You came into contact with lead." Malcolm explained gently.  
"I'm manipulating the paint with my fingers to achieve a classical effect. I made it beautiful." Jonah said, his voice low and dark.  
"No. It made you sick. Made you act out what you saw in that book." Malcolm motioned to the book under his other arm.  
"No." Jonah growled.  
"You think you're possessed, but you're not." I said gently.  
"No." Jonah repeated.  
"This isn't real." Malcolm breathed.  
"Jonah? Listen to me. There's no demon inside of you." Malcolm set his hand on my slightly raised pistol.  
"Oh, you're wrong. I am Abaddon!" Jonah screamed at us.  
"Okay, what do you recommend?" Malcolm shook slightly in front of me.  
"Exorcisms don't work. Possession isn't real." Malcolm shook his head picking up a large candle stick with a lit candle.  
"Malcolm..." I said his name urging him gently.  
"You made sure of that. Okay. How do I perform an exorcism?"  
"Oh, you've got to be kidding." Malcolm sighed.  
"Malcolm. It might be our only option. Either that or I have to shoot him."  
"Humiliare sub pontente manu De." Malcolm repeated after, I assumed, Friar Pete.  
Jonah moaned in pain at the words.  
"Da honorem Deo et Patri omnipoténti." Malcolm continued his voice shaking.  
Jonah hissed at us. I wrapped my hand around Malcolm's hip still holding my pistol.  
"Deus repellit! Deus vincit!"  
The flame of the candle bounced as Malcolm's hand shook causing Jonah to laugh.  
"Dominus autem misit ad infernu!"  
"I see it now. The darkness. The evil. You have it, too." Jonah's dark voice told Malcolm.  
"What?" Malcolm's voice shook.  
"Malcolm. It's okay." I whispered offering him my strength.  
"The power of Christ compels you." Malcolm said his voice small.  
"The power of Christ compels you!" I repeated after him firmly reminding Malcolm that I stood behind him.  
"The power of Christ compels you!" Malcolm said again.  
"The power of Christ compels you!" Malcolm and I repeated together.  
"No. No. No, no. No." Jonah fell to the ground.  
Then he shot back up towards us causing Malcolm to lash out with the candlestick, striking him in the head.  
"Are you okay?" Malcolm asked turning to me.  
I nodded.  
"Are you?" I asked touching his hips again.  
He touched his forehead to mine. I could hear Martin's frantic voice through Malcolm's phone.  
"I finished the ritual." Malcolm told his father looking at me.  
"My hero." I teased kissing him.  
"Lilian. We have a problem." Gil said as the group rushed into the sanctuary.  
"What happened?" I asked.  
"It's NYPD." JT said hanging his head.  
"Ashlyn. Get me the recording from Detective Tarmel's radio from the last half hour." I skipped the pleasantries.  
"I have it." She said after a brief moment.  
I turned on the speaker phone so we could all hear it.  
"Play it."  
"This is Detective Tarmel. We need backup at Mott Street." JT's voice said.  
He was met with only silence.  
"Do you copy? Come in." JT continued.  
"Who is this?" A cold male voice finally answered.  
"Tarmel, Major Crimes." JT identified himself again.  
"This is a police channel. Impersonating a cop is a finable offense, Detective Tarmel." The cold voice said.  
My hands shook with anger.  
"Thank you, Ashlyn. I'll call you back." I growled before hanging up the phone.  
She knew I wasn't angry at her.  
"What do we do?" Malcolm asked me.  
I looked at Gil.  
"I have rank but this is still your unit. What's the move?" I asked.  
I sat on the couch across from Gil's desk as he screamed at the officer over the phone.  
"When we call for backup, you come."  
"You know exactly what I'm talking about. He identified himself!"  
"Don't you hide behind that." He slammed the phone down.  
"I have an idea." I said motioning for the others to join us.  
"I need you on board for this." I looked at JT who nodded.  
I stepped onto the stage to rolling cameras and flashing lights.  
"I want to start by saying that I will not be taking questions at this time. It has been brought to my attention that there was an incident on the night of November third between a uniformed officer and a detective with the NYPD's Major Crimes Unit that have raised racial concerns for me. Tonight there was an additional incident and it is because of that that I have chosen to open a formal internal affairs investigation into the treatment of this detective. Any and all officers I find to be involved in this after a full investigation will be terminated and prosecuted to the full extent of the law. As officers we are tasked to uphold the law but that does not put us above the law. Thank you." I delivered my address to officially begin my investigation.  
I stepped off the stage and directly into Malcolm's arms.  
"Are you ready to go home?" I asked.  
"We should drop this book off first." Malcolm sighed.  
"Ah. My two favorite people." Martin said as Malcolm and I walked into the cell.  
"Thanks again for the help." Malcolm sighed.  
"I obviously didn't do enough. What bothers you, my boy? Come on, you can tell me anything, my son. Come on. Unburden yourself." Martin glanced at me as he spoke to his son.  
"It's just... I'm the one who decided to dispose of Endicott's body. To lie to Ainsley. Cover the whole thing up. That was me."  
The truth was it was me. I told him to call Martin but as he'd told me more than once he could have said no.  
"Or... maybe it was me." Martin said.  
"How's that? You possessed me?" Malcolm joked weakly.  
"Well, isn't that what parenting is? Your mother and I, we are the power that compels you. I mean, usually to brush your teeth or pay your bills, but you knew exactly what your sister needed. You knew how to save her. Because of..."  
"You. Because you're a part of me." Malcolm sighed again.  
"Well, uh, why, yes, I am. You haven't always, uh, appreciated that, but, uh..." Martin stuttered.  
"I'm coming to terms with it. And that's a good thing." Malcolm reached for my hand as he turned to knock on the door.  
"Son, I'm... Well... I'm speechless."  
"It's not a good thing for you, Dr. Whitly." Malcolm turned back to his father and let go of my hand.  
"See, I know you're there now. And I can lock you up. Tune you out. Even... leave you behind." Malcolm stood directly in front of his father.  
Martin looked at his son with his mouth agape.  
"Malcolm. Sweetheart. It's time to go." I said gently.  
I caught Martin glaring at me when Malcolm took my hand and walked out of the room with me.


	5. Alma Mater

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lily and Malcolm are forced to return to their Alma Mater after the headmaster is found murdered. There they must face troubling secrets and memories from their past. JT and Tally's new baby finally arrives.

I woke to Malcolm running his fingertips along the skin of my bicep.  
"Mmm." I muttered turning towards him.  
His lips caught mine. He kissed me hungrily moving to press me into the mattress.  
Then his phone rang.  
"If that's your father, I swear to God..." I muttered against his lips.  
He looked over at his phone and sighed rolling off me.  
"Hello, Dr. Whitly." Malcolm muttered.  
I growled climbing out of bed.  
"We slept fine." Malcolm sighed.  
I dressed simply in blue jeans and a forest green v-neck top before wandering into the kitchen to make coffee. Then a knock came at the door.  
"We don't have a case." Malcolm's voice said as he opened the door.  
"We've got a case." Gil's voice said.  
"Making house calls all of the sudden, Gil?" I asked coming around the island.  
"Yeah. I was on my way out to the scene and figured I'd stop by instead of just calling. Everything all right?" He looked at Malcolm's phone in his hand.  
He could be a good liar but not with me.  
"Better now. Where are we headed?"  
"Westchester. There's been a murder at Remington Academy. Mayor pressed me to take the reins."  
"'Course he did. We must protect the children of the rich at all costs." Malcolm muttered.  
"No." I said firmly.  
"We're not going. No." I turned on my heel and walked back into the kitchen.  
"I know that you don't want to go back..." Gil said following behind Malcolm and I.  
"To the oppressive boarding school from which we narrowly escaped? Nope. And they don't want to see us either." Malcolm sighed laying his hand on the small of my back.  
"What if I say I need you?" Gil asked.  
Malcolm's fingers trembled against my back.  
"We'll consider it. But only if the victim is Headmaster Brumback."  
Gil looked between us raising his eyebrow.  
"Oh you've got to be kidding me." I shook my head.  
"So I guess it's my lucky day?" Gil asked.  
"Fine. Get dressed." I sighed looking at Malcolm.  
"This is a terrible idea. You have no idea what we went through there." I told Gil after Malcolm disappeared to change.  
My own hands shook and my heart raced as I drove behind Gil out to Westchester and Remington Academy.  
Neither Malcolm nor I had been back there since we'd left in 2006.  
"We're going to get through this together." Malcolm said as we sat in the car outside the castle like school.  
"Right?" He asked when I didn't answer.  
"Right." I forced a smile at him.  
My breathing became increasingly unsteady as Malcolm and I followed behind Gil towards the pool.  
It looked exactly as I remembered.  
"Malcolm!" My own voice screamed out his name within my memories.  
"Lil. Lily. Lily! It's okay. I'm okay." Malcolm's voice broke through my subconscious.  
Only then did I realize I'd collapsed to my knees.  
"I can't do this." I looked up at Malcolm my tears blurring his face.  
"You can. We can. You're the strongest person I know. I can't do this without you." Malcolm told me.  
"What the hell happened here?" Dani asked clearly worried crouched in front of me.  
I looked up at Malcolm who nodded solemnly.  
"A pounding knock came at my dorm room near midnight...  
I opened the door to find Ryan Young standing there looking as if he ran a marathon.  
"Lily... it's Malcolm... James... James took him to the pool..." He forced out through labored breaths.  
I pushed passed him and broke into a run. My heart slammed against the walls of my chest as I forced myself forward faster and faster.  
As I approached the double doors I could see Malcolm floating face down in the middle of the pool.  
"Malcolm!" I called out his name slamming into the door.  
I didn't break stride as I jumped and dove into the pool. I flipped him onto his back but his eyes were closed and he wasn't breathing.  
Adrenaline took over allowing me to pull him out of the water.  
I couldn't find a pulse.  
I began CPR.  
Instinct took over because I couldn't think as I urged him to come back to me.  
"Come on, Malcolm. Come on."  
Finally, he coughed up water.  
I pushed him onto his side so he wouldn't choke.  
"Malcolm? Malcolm, can you hear me?" I asked gently.  
"Lily?' He said my name after a moment.  
"I'm here, Malcolm. I'm here."  
"... I never stepped foot in here again after that." I explained as Malcolm held me.  
"What happened to the kid? The one that tried to drown Bright?" Edrisa asked from inside the pool.  
"Nothing. James Brumback is now a successful trial lawyer in D.C." Malcolm answered looking at the body of Headmaster Nathaniel Brumback.  
"You up for this?" Malcolm asked me.  
I took a deep steadying breath.  
"I am if you are."  
He nodded and helped me up to my feet.  
"Someone floated the entirety of Brumback's office in the pool along with Brumback." Gil explained as we walked along the pool.  
"Brumback was marketed as an academic legend." Dani said.  
"Yeah. A legend of accepting thinly-veiled bribes from wealthy New York families all so their kids could attend one of the most prestigious boarding schools on the East Coast." Malcolm muttered.  
"And helping his son dodge attempted murder charges." I sighed.  
Dani's phone dinged.  
"Can you shed some light on the pool party?" Gil asked.  
"Senior prank. Remington tradition. When we were here, they forked the quad." I answered.  
Dani's phone dinged again.  
"JT's losing it. The baby's a week overdue. And if Tally doesn't give birth in the next 24 hours, they have to induce." Dani sighed.  
"I heard. They'll take good care of them." I smiled reassuringly at her.  
"When's the last time he had intercourse?" Edrisa's muffled voice asked.  
"Ask him. Ask him. Actually, hold up. Let me put a finer point on that. When was the last time that JT brought Tally to orgasm? Oxytocin can help trigger labor contractions. Plus, the prostaglandins in JT's sperm..." She continued.  
"Okay." Gil cut her off.  
"What do you have, Edrisa?" I asked.  
I still felt incredibly hypervigilant and anxious standing next to the pool, even with Malcolm's arm around my waist.  
"Oh. It's a real trip in here. It's all the contents of a stodgy office setup. Phone, banker's lamp, pen cup. Even a sad desk fern."  
"And our victim?" Malcolm asked his fingertips on my skin helping to ground me.  
"He was bound to the chair, carefully positioned. You know, I wish you could've seen it intact. It really... completed the whole vibe." Edrisa said with a slight hint of malice in her tone.  
"So we're looking at a drowning?" Gil asked.  
"Uh, can't be sure. Back in a few." She answered before diving beneath the water again.  
"Brumback was a gatekeeper. So check out resentful parents, ex-teachers." Gil told Dani.  
"His enemies aren't just adults. He was tough. A disciplinarian." Malcolm looked at me.  
"A student killed him?" Dani asked.  
"Dani's right. Kids wouldn't do this." Gil nodded.  
"The kids here might." Malcolm asserted.  
"A kid tried to kill Malcolm. That's just what this place is." I sighed leaning against him.  
"That was almost fifteen years ago." Gil sighed.  
"I guess we'll see."  
"Come on." Gil lead Malcolm and I into the headmaster's office.  
"Professor Delaney." Malcolm said his name when we saw the tall man with grey hair.  
"Good Lord. Malcolm Bright and Lilian Russell. It's been a minute, hasn't it? Oh. You must be, uh, Lieutenant Arroyo. Thanks for being here. I'm Alan, the board's chosen me as interim headmaster. Which may be more of a curse than a privilege." He shook our three hands in turn.  
"Why is that?" Gil asked.  
"Well, the Brumback baggage. There's not a kid on this campus who doesn't dread having to report to this office." Delaney answered looking at Malcolm and I.  
"How many in the senior class?" Gil asked.  
"127 students."  
"More like suspects." Malcolm sighed.  
"Easy. Let's keep an open mind." Gil cautioned.  
I laid my hand on Malcolm's shoulder.  
"I'm not worried about his mind, Lieutenant. Or Lilian's. I've been in awe of them for almost 15 years. You do your thing, Malcolm. Besides, your mother has assured the board that the investigation would remain discreet."  
"My mother?" Malcolm asked.  
"Around here, it's vice chairwoman. Professor Delaney, I assume the reunion has been auspicious?" Jessica came around the corner.  
"You called the mayor." I sighed.  
"Why would you make us come back here?" Malcolm looked at his mother, his pain more than evident.  
"I needed this handled delicately, and you both would have said no." She looked at me.  
"I think we might say no now." Malcolm reached for me.  
"Malcolm, Lily, please. My family helped build this school. If the press report that the headmaster was found dead in Pop-Pop's aquatic center, how soon until they connect that back to me?" She pleaded with us.  
"We'll need to review the headmaster's recent schedule, phone records." Malcolm sighed looking at me.  
Reluctantly I nodded. He needed me and as much as I hated being at Remington, I needed to be where he was.  
"I'll talk to his secretary. Thanks, everybody. Malcolm, Lily, I'm glad you're here." Delaney nodded at us.  
"And we'll go and... profile." Malcolm took my hand as we watched Gil and Jessica glare at one another.  
"This was low, Jessica. Even for you." I sighed before following him out into the hallway.  
"Are you sure about this?" I asked gently as Malcolm wrapped his arm around me both lending me and asking for strength.  
"I am if you are." He smirked at me weakly.  
"Sure is a strong word. The sooner we solve this the better." I nodded.  
"Alright. Talk to me." Gil said walking into the hallway where we were.  
"Well, there are two crimes. One is a prank. Elaborate yet childish. And the other is a murder. This is a case of teen brain." Malcolm said turning us to look at him  
"Teen brain? You're kidding." Jessica scoffed at her son.  
"He's kidding, isn't he?" She looked at Gil.  
"Not usually. Explain teen brain." He answered her.  
"It's the psychological state of adolescence. The frontal cortex of a typical teenager is underdeveloped. They can't weigh the consequences of their actions." Malcolm answered.  
"And I thought it was all the spiced rum I drank.  
Not here, of course." Jessica muttered.  
"Adolescence is also when certain mental disorders can surface, even psychopathy. Combine teen brain with that and you get something a lot worse than a hangover." I added still fairly unhappy with my soon-to-be mother-in-law.  
Malcolm and I walked together through the halls of the school we'd sworn we'd never come back to and found Dani in the central hallway.  
"What is a Foley balloon?" She asked as we walked in.  
"An inflated catheter inserted into the cervix to encourage dilation." I answered as Malcolm walked away from me.  
"Ugh. Poor Tally." She grimaced.  
"Malcolm? You okay?" I asked watching him walk slowly down the hallway.  
"Sure thing. Great to be back. Go Stags." He muttered.  
"This is your year, right?" Dani asked pointing at a picture of the '06 class.  
"The class photo is for graduating seniors. We didn't make it to the end of the year." I answered.  
"Your hand is shaking." Dani looked over at Malcolm.  
"Some neuroscientists believe that the body can store memories. The tremor? I wasn't born with it. Didn't happen till years after my father's arrest."  
"The drowning wasn't the only thing that happened here, was it?" She asked and I shook my head.  
I finally focused on what Malcolm was staring at down the hallway.  
"Shit..." I muttered.  
"Malcolm, baby." I said rushing forward to stand in front of him.  
"Baby, look at me." I urged taking his face in my hands.  
"It's okay. I've got you. It's okay."  
I hadn't seen Malcolm before the three day weekend. Mrs. Whitly sent a car to take him to meet her and Ainsley in the Hamptons while I'd spent the weekend with Gil and Jackie.  
This feeling of dread washed over me when I realized that Malcolm wasn't in attendance in our homeroom.  
"Ryan?" I called rushing to catch up to him after.  
"Hey, Lily. What's up?"  
"When did you see Malcolm last?"  
"Must've been Friday afternoon. He said he needed to drop his books off at his locker and I didn't see him after that."  
"Thanks." I sighed.  
"Why?" Ryan asked when I fell back.  
"He wasn't in homeroom." I called just before turning to run towards his locker.  
By the time I got there the hall was empty.  
"Malcolm!" I called his name and paused.  
I heard muffled movement at the end of the hallway.  
"Malcolm?" I said again.  
"Lily?" His muffled voice came, small and weak from behind the locked closet door near his locker.  
"Lily, please help me. Let me out." He pounded on the door.  
I slid the lock and ripped the door open.  
Malcolm shrank back away from the light. Instinctively, I sat down on my knees in the doorway.  
"Malcolm. It's me. It's okay." I urged reaching out towards him.  
"You're real? Please tell me you're real." He looked towards me.  
"I'm real. Malcolm, I'm real." I answered.  
He crawled towards me and collapsed into my arms.  
"What happened? Malcolm, tell me who did this." I pleaded with him but he just shook and cried in my arms.  
"Someone told him... Someone told him who I am. Told him my name." He looked up at me finally, pain radiating from his eyes.  
"Told who, Malcolm. Who did this?" I asked again running my fingers through his hair, wet with sweat.  
"Nicky. Nicky did it." He muttered.  
Pain shot through my chest. Malcolm trusted Nicky Covington. Considered him a friend.  
"Lily. Lily stay with me. Don't go after him. Stay here with me." Malcolm looked up into my face again.  
He knew me too well, even then.  
"Brumback expelled us. Put our names in his little black... The book." Malcolm told Dani back in the present.  
"Is the headmaster's desk still in the pool?" He asked looking back at me.  
"Yeah?" I shook my head.  
"No. Malcolm." I sighed as he took off back towards the pool area.  
"At least give me your phone first." I sighed finally catching up with him standing at the edge of the pool.  
He took his watch off, then handed me his wallet and cellphone.  
"Be careful."  
He looked at me and nodded before diving into the pool in his three piece suit.  
Seeing him in that pool grated at me. I could feel my hands shaking as my heart rate picked up.  
Finally, he emerged from the water laying the book at my feet.  
"Do you need help?" I asked looking down at him.  
He reached up for my hand.  
"Who's names are on the last page?" Malcolm asked sitting on the edge of the pool.  
"Uh... Molly Albright, Anton Currie, and Lousia Morrison." I answered.  
"Have..."  
"...Gil gather them. I already texted him the names. I'm pretty good at this." I teasingly glared at him.  
"Come on. Wow. You're soaking wet."  
"I'll need a towel and a change of clothes eventually." He nodded as he followed me down the hallways, his shoes squishing with every step.  
The door to the classroom creaked as I pulled it open.  
Malcolm followed me into the room. Each of the three pairs of eyes were on me. An FBI Chief and New York royalty that was once expelled from Remington. I took my place next to Gil as Malcolm leaned against the table in front of us with a sigh.  
"Hi. I'm Bright, Malcolm Bright, and I'll be your profiler today." He said with a glance back at me.  
"Police profiler? You're a detective?" A teen girl with dark hair, Lousia asked.  
"He's the detective, she's the FBI, but I'll be asking the questions. You're here because I found Headmaster Brumback's black book."  
"It's not real. It's just a myth they tell for scaring the freshmen." The only teen boy, Anton shook his head.  
"You'd think, right? But, funny story... We saw it when we went to school here. He kept it in a lockbox in his desk. You know the one. It's floating in the pool. Hence, the swim." He motioned down at his clothes.  
I stifled my laugh.  
"Professor, is there someone who can get Malcolm a towel and a change of clothes until we can go home." I whispered.  
"Of course. I'll get someone on it." Professor Delaney nodded.  
Gil cleared his throat impatiently.  
"Right. The book is reserved for expulsion-level offenses, and your names appear on the last page, dated yesterday. So, tell me... what did you do? And who wants to go first?" Malcolm continued after a quick look back at Gil  
"I was in Brumback's office. But I didn't do anything. It was about my graduation. A pep talk for my salutatorian address. He knew I was disappointed." Louisa began.  
"Here we go." Anton muttered.  
"I'm National Honor Society, editor in chief of the Daily Stag."  
"Louisa also generously volunteers her time in our library." Delaney said handing me a pair of sweatpants, a zipup hoodie, and a large towel.  
"Thank you, Professor Delaney." Lousia said watching me.  
"I'm sure our beloved headmaster wouldn't want a little thing like his murder to affect her college prospects." Molly spoke up.  
"Dude, you're dripping." Anton looked at Malcolm.  
"Yeah, water does that. What's your excuse?" Malcolm sighed sarcastically.  
"Fine. Brumback called me in. He was pissed. Two girls got in a fight over a status update." Anton admitted.  
"Was one of them your girlfriend?" Malcolm asked.  
"They both were." Anton smirked.  
"So gross." Molly spat.  
"Boys, right? Oof." I looked at her then my loving fiancé.  
"Brumback caught me smoking pot, a so-called "drug" that's legal in 11 states." Molly looked at me.  
"Fight the power, Molly." Malcolm raised his fist.  
"He was ancient. He had a good run." Molly shook her head.  
"Excuse me. As revolting as that statement is, none of what's been said here is a motive for murder." Lousia looked between us.  
"Not necessarily, but you've all exhibited interesting psychological markers. Lack of empathy, paranoia, grandiosity." Malcolm looked between them.  
"It's called survival." Lousia glared at him.  
"I have one more question. Did you talk about this before you came here?"  
"We don't talk." Anton chuckled.  
"He's a jock, she's a stoner, I'm..." Lousia shrugged.  
"Perfect?" Molly shot at her.  
"We're not friends." She looked at us.  
"Can I go now? I mean... my condolences to our late headmaster." Lousia amended looking at Delaney who nodded.  
"For now." Gil amended.  
I teased Malcolm's hair with the towel as I walked around to stand in front of him.  
"You are a mess, my love." I teased helping him out of the soaking wet jacket.  
"Yet, you still love me." He smiled at me.  
"With everything I am." I smiled back as he rested his hands on my hips.  
Malcolm and I retreated to the men's bathroom so I could help him peel his wet pants off and change into the sweatpants.  
"They're lying. All of them." Malcolm told me as we got his newly bare chest and back dried off.  
"Lack of empathy is not enough to get us to murder. Even we're more relieved that empathetic that he's dead." I reminded him.  
"I don't know if they're murderers. But I do know they're friends."  
"They're called "cliques." It's a high school. A weird-ass high school, but a high school." Dani called from just outside the bathroom door.  
I helped him into the t-shirt and zip up hoodie then we walked with Dani back into the classroom.  
"When I pulled out that book, they exchanged looks, glances, fleeting micro-expressions that indicate a familiarity. They're hiding something." Malcolm insisted.  
The door opened and Jessica walked in.  
"Those students are innocent." She exclaimed looking at her son.  
"Jessica, this needs to stop. You're interfering with my case." Gil stood between us and Jessica.  
"Because I can offer valuable insight." She responded.  
"'Generations of Miltons attending Remington Academy' is not valuable insight." Gil argued  
"You are allowing your unfortunate experience at Remington to cloud your judgment." She approached Malcolm but I stood between them.  
"'Unfortunate experience'?" I shot at her.  
"Then maybe you shouldn't have forced us to come back here." Malcolm added from over my shoulder.  
"I am on the board of trustees. I know these students. Louisa, Anton, Molly... they're all from impeccable families."  
"So were we, and we were expelled." Malcolm shot back at her.  
"And just like you, none of them is capable of murder."  
"You don't know that. You don't know what they're capable of. You don't know what this place can do to someone." I shook my head.  
"What does that..."  
"Lily? Help." Edrisa's voice cut her off.  
I turned to look at her just as she started to collapse. I barely managed to catch her.  
"Malcolm. Clear off the desk so I can lay her down."  
After laying her on the desk I pulled up her shirt to find a fist size bruise directly over her diaphragm.  
"She's not hurt badly. Lousia got in a good hit to her diaphragm and it shocked her." I explained to Malcolm, Gil, Dani, and Jessica.  
"It was a fridge full of water bottles, and these kids acted like I was trying to steal the compound microscope." Edrisa said having regained consciousness.  
"And it was Anton, Louisa and Molly?" Jessica asked.  
It shouldn't surprise me that she was still unconvinced of their guilt but it did. Even she couldn't be so blind.  
"According to Delaney, Remington doesn't even have a Physics Club." Gil looked at me.  
"Whatever they're up to, it's off the books." Malcolm nodded beside me.  
"You were right. They're in on it together." Dani added.  
"But in on what?" Gil questioned.  
"Well, it might not be just water. There are a handful of drugs that are water-soluble: MDMA, LSD. Run a test on the water bottle." Edrisa said handing me a bottle from her bag.  
I ran my fingers along the bottle noticing that the label felt odd.  
"Malcolm." I muttered pulling the label up.  
"They're not running drugs. They were cheating." Malcolm told the group.  
"Huh. The label's a crib sheet." Edrisa said reaching for the bottle which I handed her.  
"And if Brumback knew, they could kiss their Ivy League futures goodbye." I added.  
"There's your motive." Malcolm nodded again.  
"Three kids teaming up to drown their headmaster?" Dani asked.  
"Oh, it wasn't a drowning. Brumback was dead before he hit the pool. The killer used chloramine trihydrate. It's a poisonous antibacterial agent." Edrisa told us.  
"And it wasn't three kids. Not together. Teen brain doesn't fit with organized crime." I looked at Malcolm who nodded.  
"My vote is for Louisa. Girl's got a heavy fist." Edrisa touched her abdomen.  
"She's the brains." Malcolm agreed.  
"Louisa Morrison's father is a top hedge fund manager. If we bring her in for interrogation, she's coming with a high-priced lawyer at her side." Gil told us.  
"Then maybe we don't bring her in. I know of a master interrogator who's dying to talk to her." He looked at me.  
I nodded.  
Dani took Malcolm home to change and I wandered the hallways. My fingertips shook as I dragged them along the wood grain closet door that once trapped my fiancé.  
"You are Dr. Lilian Russell." Lousia's voice came from behind me.  
"I am, yes." I turned to look at her.  
"You're dating the profiler?" She continued.  
"I'm marrying the profiler." I nodded absently fiddling with my ring.  
"I noticed you watching me during Malcolm's questioning. Is there something you want to discuss?"  
"My father talks about you all the time. He's in awe that you could attain all you have having been expelled from Remington." She told me.  
"I was expelled for standing up for someone who was being treated unfairly. Unfortunately, those I stood against were more popular with the board than I or my friend. I maintained that integrity and that's what has made me as successful as I am." I explained.  
"What does your father think about all this?"  
"He doesn't know and he doesn't need to." She looked at me.   
"They say I'm a legacy." She looked down.  
"Us too." Malcolm said walking up behind her to join me.  
"Ms. Whitly is your mother?" Lousia looked at Malcolm who nodded.  
"Lousia, if you're holding anything back we need to know." I said as Malcolm wrapped his arm around my waist.  
"I should go." She turned from us.  
"We know about the cheating." I called after her.  
"What cheating?"  
"You know who I am and what I do. I don't fish for information." I answered.  
"Oh. I just needed a little help, one linear algebra exam, but then he threatened me. He said he would out me if I didn't work for him." She admitted.  
"Who? Do you know who killed Headmaster Brumback?" I pushed.  
"It was Anton."  
"Go, Malcolm. I'll meet you." I urged him looking at her.  
I wasn't certain she was being honest with us. Something about her didn't sit right with me and she punched my friend.  
"Thank you, Lousia." I feigned a smile.  
I found Malcolm in the library with Professor Delaney after conferring with Gil and Dani.  
"Your collection got a real upgrade." Malcolm announced his presence.  
"Well, Remington Academy is nothing if not disgustingly overfunded. I come in here for the quiet." Delaney nodded.  
"Books don't talk back." Malcolm recited.  
I knew he knew I was there. That's just how we were, yet, I still hung back watching the scene unfold.  
"No. Unlike most students. Oh, there we are. Good as old."  
"You have a... purposeful look about you. What's happening?" Delaney looked up at Malcolm finally.  
"Louisa identified Anton as the ringleader. We're here to arrest him."  
"Anton. Well, tell me more. You can come in. Have a seat. You still claustrophobic?"  
Malcolm leaned forward gripping ahold of the edge of the doorframe.  
"Malcolm? Hey. Malcolm, hey. You all right." Delaney took a step towards him but I made it to him first touching his skin, lending him my strength.  
"Malcolm." I said his name gently.  
"Lily." He breathed turning to me.  
"It's okay. I'm here." I hugged him.  
Finally, he took a deep breath.  
"When we were at Remington... when Nicky Covington locked me in that closet... who told him my real name?" Malcolm turned to Delaney.  
"You know I defended you to Brumback, right? You should never have been expelled. Neither of you." He said not answering the question, immediately heightening my defenses.  
"Thank you. Who told Nicky? Brumback must have known." Malcolm pushed.  
"Why always the detective, huh? You have a compulsion to solve things. Just leave it, Malcolm."  
"Don't tell him to leave it. Just don't." I snapped raising my hand to point in his face.  
"Please." Malcolm almost begged next to me.  
"Your dad... called the dorms, left a message using your real name. Sorry." Delaney finally told us.  
Loud helicopter sounds broke through the tension in the room.  
"What the hell?" I muttered.  
"Were you expecting a helicopter?" Malcolm asked Delaney who shook his head.  
"Go. Go." I pushed him towards the door and ran behind him.  
"All units, all units, Code 4. Chopper just took off from the south field. Suspect is on the run. I repeat, suspect is on the run." Dani called into the radio as we ran up behind her.  
"Anton's on board?" I asked.  
"And it looks like he used Daddy's money, for the getaway car." She sighed.  
"I want to go see my father." Malcolm said next to me.  
I nodded. There wasn't anything we could do there on the ground.  
"A murder in Remington? Well, forgive me if I root for the killer this time. Kidding. Tell me about your case." Martin told us after I explained the case.  
"I need to know why you did it." Malcolm finally said as I leaned against the wall.  
"Did what?" Martin asked looking at me.  
"No. Why? Why did you betray me? Why would you do something so despicable?"  
I could hear the pain in his voice confronting his father.  
"Well, I've been accused of a great deal. Please be specific."  
"You told them my name. You destroyed my last chance of a normal childhood. All with one phone call."  
"To Remington. How surgical of me."  
"You're a narcissistic psychopath. But do you know what else you are? You are a terrible father. I was in that closet... for three days. No food. No water. Trapped."  
I stepped up and touched Malcolm's skin again as he advanced slightly on his father.  
"Was it because I changed my name? Because I left? Or was it because I'm nothing like you and you can't stand it?" He pushed against me, not violently but desperately.  
"How you wish that that were true. My boy, I have made mistakes... but not this. I never called Remington Academy. I never agreed with your mother's boarding school "experiment." But I loved my son. Still do." Martin surprisingly maintained his composure.  
"Why should I believe you?" Malcolm asked his body sagging against me.  
"Because you are the one person I cannot hurt. Even when my own freedom depended on it. Go on, do it. Analyze my sick, deviant mind. You know I'm telling you the truth."  
"I asked you about your case. It's the real reason you're here, isn't it? Someone's lying to you, Malcolm. And it isn't me." Martin told him.  
I turned to look at him and found a surprisingly earnest expression. Malcolm himself spent his entire life profiling his father and I did my final case study in the FBI academy on 'The Surgeon'. I believed him. He'd taken Malcolm into the woods, to the cabin to kill him and he couldn't. He didn't call Remington.  
"Brumback was poisoned. Chloramine trihydrate." Malcolm told his father finally beginning to calm down.  
He knew Martin was telling the truth just as much I did.  
"It's a compound used in medical sterilization. It's also a bleach. It can save old paper, reduce browning, deterioration." Martin shrugged.  
"Professor Delaney." Malcolm looked at me then knocked on the door.  
"And they're off." Martin muttered after us.  
"I confronted my father." Malcolm told Delaney walking back into the library two steps before me.  
"Oh, God. He denied outing you, I'm guessing." Delaney turned to him.  
Malcolm nodded.  
"Well, a parent who lies so consistently, gaslights you at every turn... I can't imagine how difficult that is. That's why I prefer books to people. They do not let you down." Delaney continued.  
"Is that why you need so many? That drive to collect points to obsession. Anxiety. Intrusive thoughts. A need to control one thing in an out-of-control world." Malcolm said.  
"Are you profiling me?"  
"No, but... I've been profiling my father all my life. He's telling the truth. Which means... you're lying." Malcolm said glancing at me.  
"I should get a lawyer about now, shouldn't I, Malcolm?" Delaney looked between us.  
"You told Nicky my real name. I was just a kid." Malcolm shook his head reaching for me.  
"Please. You were more than just a kid. You saw everything. Having someone so observant around is inconvenient when you're running a cheating ring, wouldn't you say?"  
"You came for me but not for Lily."  
"Lilian Russell was and will always be untouchable. The only way to get to her is to go through you. It's always been that way. She didn't see it then because she was focused on keeping you safe." He explained looking at me.  
"For over 20 years, you gave students the exam answers. Why?" I asked.  
"Oh, please, these kids. Their money. Their privilege. You leave this school with the promise of what? Anything you want. A fabulous life. And I am stuck here. So why shouldn't I get my piece?" Delaney asked.  
"Headmaster Brumback was poisoned with chloramine trihydrate." Malcolm told him.  
"I use it to restore books."  
"My profile was wrong. I wanted to punish those students so badly, I missed what was right in front of me. You killed Brumback."  
"Well, you are wrong. Malcolm, I helped kids cheat." Delaney reached up and grabbed Malcolm by the back of his neck.  
I grabbed his fingers roughly removing them and stepping between them.  
I'm not..." He panted stumbling backwards.  
"I'm not a murderer. I'm..." He grunted falling to the floor.  
"Lily. Get help." Malcolm said urging me out of the restoration box.  
"Oh! God." Delaney called out as I rushed out of the room.  
"Gil. I need EMS in the library. Someone poisoned Delaney." I said into my cellphone.  
I heard the door to the restoration box slam.  
"The killer's here."  
"Wait for back up." Gil told me.  
"I'm marrying Malcolm and right now his claustrophobic ass is locked in a small box. I'm not waiting for anyone."  
"You killed Headmaster Brumback. Why? No college is worth this." Malcolm said from inside the box as I made my way as silently as I could through the stacks towards them.  
"Speak for yourself. My father taught me you don't let someone like Brumback stop you from doing what has to be done." Lousia told him.  
"That's why you're doing this? Your father? For his approval?"   
"I'm not some rich kid cliché." She scoffed at him.  
"No. You're not, are you? This is about getting away from him. College means escape. Somewhere far." Malcolm figured.  
"Yeah. Oxford."  
"Running away won't solve anything."  
"It'll solve one thing. I'll never have to see my father again."  
"But you'll still be his daughter, and you'll still be a killer."  
"A killer? No."  
"Delaney is dying! And when the air runs out in here, I am next!"  
"You shouldn't have come back. I'm sorry." Lousia moved to turn away from him.  
"Wait!" Malcolm called just before she caught sight of me.  
She turned back to him and he used the restoration iron to light one of the book pages on fire.  
"What are you doing?" She asked.  
"There must be a fire suppression system in here. An alarm?" He locked eyes with me.  
"Yeah. It'll remove all the oxygen from the vault. Are you insane?" She asked him.  
"Maybe." He shrugged.  
The alarm began ringing as I pressed my pistol to Lousia's head.  
"Open the door. Now." I said as calmly as I could manage.  
She complied.  
"Down on your knees. Interlock your fingers. Lousia Morrison, you are under arrest for the murder of Nathanial Brumback and the attempted murder of Alan Delaney and Malcolm Bright. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney one will be provided for you. Do you understand these rights as I have read them to you?" I recited handcuffing her.  
"Yes." She growled at me.  
Finally, Gil and the team rushed into the room. Dani took Lousia from my custody as Malcolm sat next to me.  
"Fire?" I chuckled pressing my forehead to his.  
"Gil's not going to think it's funny." He muttered.  
"Definitely not."  
Malcolm and I sat in the conference room in front of Gil who glared at my love.  
Malcolm sat wrapped tightly in a blanket to fight the hypothermia from the fire suppression foam and the icy mid November air.  
"I know, I know. You don't have to say it." Malcolm looked up at Gil.  
"What the hell's the matter with you, Bright?" Gil exclaimed.  
"Or maybe you do. I'm fine. Really." Malcolm looked to me for assistance that would not come.  
"Guys..." Dani said excitedly rushing into the room.  
"Give us a minute, Powell." Gil held his hand up to stop her.  
"Oh, a whole minute? Come on, Gil. Can't we just jump to the end? You say, 'A fire? You started a fire in an airtight vault? Have you completely lost it?'" Malcolm imitated him.  
I attempted to stifle my laughter earning me a glare from Gil.  
"That's a little performative, but sure."  
Dani rushed over to me to show me a picture of JT and Tally's new son.  
"And then I remind you that you arrested Louisa. We solved the case, saved Delaney's life..." Malcolm continued.  
"And nearly died of asphyxiation." Gil shot at him.  
"All in a day's work." Malcolm shrugged.  
"We've got a baby. It's a little boy. Little JT." Dani finally exclaimed drawing Gil and Malcolm's attention to us.  
"Just when we needed some good news." Gil smiled looking at the picture.  
Malcolm looked at me after looking at the picture.  
"Born November 19th 2020 at 18:55." Dani beamed at us.  
"I need to go apologize to my father." Malcolm told me as we walked out to the car.  
"Okay." I smiled at him still thinking about baby Tarmel.  
"So, did you close the case?" Martin asked as we walked in.  
Malcolm nodded and took my hand.  
"Well done. Of course, I wish that you had included me from the start. I know a great deal about poisonous oxidizing agents."  
"I'm sorry." Malcolm said.  
I could feel his pulse in his wrist.  
"Excuse me?" Martin looked between us.  
"I accused you of something that you didn't do. And I'm apologizing." Malcolm explained.  
"Okay. Here we are. You're apologizing to me. These are words I did not expect to hear." Martin looked at me.  
"You realize I'm not apologizing for anything else." Malcolm reminded him.  
"Come on, let me have this one little moment. Apology accepted."  
"I don't care." Malcolm smirked.  
"I know that I am, so people say, a little... problematic."   
"Problematic doesn't get you chained to a wall." Malcolm scoffed softly.  
"Oh, no, I meant problematic in the sense that I'm not all bad. And that was your mistake at Remington. You should have owned your last name. The rich, dashing son of a killer. Oh, those little devils would have loved you. Am I right? You're Malcolm Whitly. You're my boy. Don't forget that." Martin said with a smirk.  
"Don't worry. I can't." Malcolm sighed tugging on my hand.  
He knocked on the door and the lock buzzed letting us out.  
"Call me tomorrow." Martin called after us.  
"Enjoy Bible study." Malcolm responded.  
"Bible study?" I chuckled as we walked back to the car.  
"At least he's making friends." Malcolm shrugged.  
"Why don't we go home and continue that conversation that your father so rudely interrupted?" I suggested.  
"Conversation?" Malcolm looked at me confused.  
I stopped walking and pulled him closer to me pressing my lips to his.  
"Oh. That conversation. I can't think of anything else I'd rather do." He smirked at me.


	6. Take Your Father to Work Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Martin is delighted when a murder at Claremont Psychiatric brings the NYPD into his territory, allowing him direct involvement with one of Malcolm and Lilian's cases. While working the same job, Ainsley's suspicion grows when she feels Malcolm and Lily may be hiding something from her. All the while, Malcolm and Ainsley must dodge their mother, who's wondering why they got rid of her favorite rug.

"You know she'll flip if we don't show her before we take them home." Malcolm reminded me as we walked up to Jessica's front door.  
"I know that." I shook my head holding the black box containing our wedding bands.  
Malcolm ushered me through the French doors into the foyer.  
"Stop there. Do you know the horrors that happened here?" A tall older man asked.  
"Aha! There's the culprit." Jessica came out and glared at her son.  
"You. You are the spiller of wine?" The man continued.  
"What's going on? Who is he?" I asked taking a step forward.  
"Do you remember that rug my two ne'er-do-well children ruined? Hans is helping me find a replacement. No doubt a horridly expensive one." Jessica looked at me.  
"Blame your skinny millennial." Hans said glaring at Malcolm earning a laugh from Jessica.  
"Who throws out a priceless heirloom over a little Burgundy stain?"  
"Honestly, darling, he's right. I have never understood this story." Jessica looked back at Malcolm.  
"Well... actually, Hans, it was a 2007 Syrah. And the story's pretty simple, Mother. Ainsley and I came back from the hospital after Gil's stabbing, and we were upset." Malcolm explained my mind flashing to when I walked into the mansion that night.  
"Ainsley was a little tipsy, she grabbed for the bottle. And it fell... spilling everywhere. And the rug... was beyond repair." He finished.  
"She's always been so clumsy." Jessica mused.  
"She felt so bad that she nearly had a panic attack."  
"At least one of you has a soul. Jessica, come. Let's talk pillows." Hans shook his head.  
"Jess, wait. We're here because we just picked up the wedding bands."  
"Oh! Let's see." She beamed at me.  
I opened the box.  
Malcolm's five millimeter platinum ring with 'Then. Now. Forever.' engraved inside was otherwise unadorned. My two millimeter platinum ring also engraved with 'Then. Now. Forever.' had eight diamonds set in a channel that would hug the back of my engagement ring.  
"They're beautiful. Oh! This is getting so exciting." She hugged me tightly.  
"Pick a good rug. We have to go home and pack for the honeymoon." I smiled at her.  
"Oh of course! Get out of here." She smiled at me.  
"Thank you for making him promise to take this vacation." She whispered to me.  
"It'll be good for us both."  
"Call your sister." I instructed my fiancé as soon as I closed my car door.  
"I did my best, but she was definitely in interrogator mode." Malcolm explained to Ainsley sitting on our couch an hour later.  
I handed him a glass of water with an Alka-Seltzer tablet dissolving at the bottom.  
"Do you think she suspects something?" Ainsley asked as I walked around the couch to sit in his lap.  
"Well, I did show her our wedding bands after the inquiry so hopefully that distracted her." I answered.  
"But be careful. You're next." Malcolm added wrapping his arms around my waist.  
"I'll be fine. It's easier for me to lie. I don't actually remember anything. Honestly... it'd be nice to remember more from that night." She looked down at her hands.  
"Not really. You're lucky, Ains." Malcolm told her gently squeezing my waist.  
"Okay, you're not gonna talk to me, but why can't I talk to Dad? You said he knows. What's the problem?" She asked Malcolm pointedly.  
"Well, he's a serial killer. And it was a traumatic experience. Your mind erased it for a reason. You should focus on work, and forget it ever happened." Malcolm argued.  
"Glad you mentioned it. You know how I've been wanting to get back in the studio? Well, I need a big story, so, I was thinking 'The Surgeon, Part Two.'"  
I chuckled despite myself.  
"No, Ainsley, that's a horrible idea" Malcolm sighed as his phone rang.  
"Is that Gil? Is there a story?" Ainsley looked at Malcolm, excitement in his eyes.  
"Okay, here's the deal." Malcolm looked at her.  
"Okay." She smiled expectantly.  
"I'll let you in on this case if you stop asking about that night and you promise not to see Dad."  
"Okay, fine." She groaned.  
"Hey, Gil." Malcolm finally answered the phone on speaker phone.  
"There's been a murder at Claremont. Your father's a witness." I could hear the annoyance in Gil's voice.  
"Malcolm? Malcolm! Can't wait to work with you, my boy!" Martin exclaimed in the background.  
"Yes. Yes. Come on." Ainsley jumped off the couch.  
"Are you coming?" I asked gently standing up.  
Malcolm looked up at me then down at the glass on the table.  
"Let's go. Malcolm." Ainsley exclaimed.  
"Never make promises until you have all the information."  
Malcolm just stared at me as he began downing his drink.  
"Okay, drink." Ainsley called back at us.  
I could read the expression in his eyes.  
"Chug, chug." She encouraged from afar.  
Finally, he finished and set the glass on the table.  
"Attaboy." She cheered.  
"Come on, my love." I smiled at him.  
"Let's go!" Ainsley called happily.  
Malcolm and I left Ainsley to head to the morgue for Edrisa's findings.  
"I found a set of antemortem bruises on Jerry's shoulders, which suggests he was shoved back before he was pushed. This was a fight. Someone was angry with him." She explained as we looked over Jerry Chapman's body.  
"Exactly what I was thinking." Martin's voice came from the phone beside her.  
"Is that..." Malcolm asked.  
"Yes. Sorry. I... had to call Dr. Whitly to ask if he knew what angle our victim landed, and then we got to talking, and..." Edrisa stumbled over her words looking at Malcolm.  
"It's obvious, son. This was an inside job. Not just inside Claremont, inside group therapy. I saw it all, clear as day. Every single patient in our circle looked positively murderous as Jerry bragged about leaving. That's six good suspects. I'll have Mr. David fax over the nam..." Martin said before being cut off by Gil hanging up on him.  
"You need to make some new friends." Gil glared at her.  
"He may be onto something. Jerry's release may have triggered abandonment anxiety in his fellow patients. We all experience it when someone gets engaged or promoted instead of us." I explained looking at Malcolm who nodded.  
"Like my friend who... kept posting photos of her wedding in the Galapagos. It's like, 'Yeah, we get it, Carly. You saw some turtles and you married my high school boyfriend. Ugh.' But, you know, I've seen plenty of turtles." Edrisa ranted.  
"Okay... We should go back to Claremont." I looked between Malcolm and Gil.  
"Vincent Espinal." A shorter man with grey hair introduced himself shaking my hand.  
"Dr. Lilian Russell, Chief of the FBI's New York field office." I nodded at him.  
"To what do we owe the FBI's involvement?" He asked cocking his head to the side.  
"I also work as a consultant with the NYPD." I answered.  
"There's more..."  
"I'm also engaged to Dr. Whitly's son."  
"Ah... Well, Claremont is open to you ma'am." He nodded.  
"And I thank you for it."  
"So, what's the plan? Toss some cells? Put the place in lockdown? You know, we could always run down a few suspects, play, uh, good cop, bad cop, profiler... predatory psychopath." Martin grinned looking between Gil, Malcolm, and I after we walked in.  
"We're not here to discuss case strategy. You're a witness." Gil sighed glaring at him.  
"Why can't I be a peer? Why, you've shown so much affection to my son. And my wife. Why no love for the man who actually gave you your career?"  
"Martin enough." I glared at him.  
"Wait, wait." Malcolm reached out and grabbed Gil's arm as he turned to walk out of the room.  
"Both of you; enough." I continued.  
"Dr. Whitly, when Jerry was talking about leaving Claremont in group, you mentioned some patients exhibited stress responses." Malcolm turned back to his father.  
"Maybe."   
"We're gonna need a little more than that." I sighed.  
"So am I. Come on. A murder in Claremont? Oh, this is the dream. I want to help you. I really, really do. But, uh... You know, I do not like these dynamics one bit. I want to be part of the team." Martin pouted at me.  
"Okay. We'll work together." Gil finally conceded caught in Malcolm's puppy dog stare.  
"Now, what did you witness in group therapy?" I pushed.  
"I think three of my friends had acute stress responses. Hector, Burt and Friar Pete."  
"That's a start. We'll go talk to them."  
"Oh, good luck with that. It's taken Dr. Marsh years to get those fellas to say even a few words about themselves." Martin cut me off.  
"What do you suggest?" Malcolm sighed.  
"So, my next group therapy session starts in an hour. Now, today, Dr. Marsh will invite a skilled profiler and his FBI partner to discuss Jerry's case. The three of us together, we'll get the truth out of them. Come on. It'll be fun!" Martin told us.  
"What's your standing in this group? Do they respect you?" Malcolm asked.  
"They love me." Martin smiled at him.  
"They hate you, don't they?" Gil asked.  
"Definitely."   
"Good. We can work with that." I looked at my fiancé.  
"Are you sure about this?" I asked Malcolm as we walked towards the therapy room.  
"If it's how we catch this son of a bitch." He smirked at me sadly.  
"You think we're gonna help the cops? Nobody say nothing." A Hispanic inmate said sitting next to Malcolm, Hector I figured.  
I leaned against the wall directly behind Malcolm.  
"I'm with Hector." Another inmate said.  
"I'm with God." Friar Pete added.  
"Okay, come on, now. Look, let's... let's give him a chance. You know, he's, uh, he's one of us, after all, you know? He understands our inner torture, uh... Because he's a skilled profiler. So I've heard." Martin blubbered.  
"Wait. This is Malcolm. The son you're always talking about?" Hector looked at Martin.  
I pushed myself upright meeting Martin's eye.  
"All good, I promise." He eyed me.  
Malcolm chuckled softly.  
"Dude got fired from the FBI. Chopped a guy's hand off. Smashed his own with a hammer." Hector continued.  
"Hmm. He's got a thing with hands?" Friar Pete asked.  
"Bro, you're crazier than me." Hector looked back at Malcolm.  
"I'm not sure that's true, Hector. You did gut your mother's boyfriend with a fire poker." Malcolm chuckled again.  
"Malcolm, we like to focus on positives here." Dr. Marsh reminded him.  
"Of course. Okay, let's get down to it. I'm here to catch a killer." Malcolm brought his ankle up to rest on his thigh.  
Martin laughed causing me to sigh. Hector turned to look at me and I put on my best FBI Chief face.  
"Sorry. It's just, um, that tickled me, you know, because, um, your catching a killer didn't work out as a positive for me." Martin said.  
"Yeah, Malc. Calling the cops on your old man? That's cold. Probably hurt as bad as a fire poker in the gut, didn't it, Doc?" Hector turned back to Malcolm.  
"Oh, it stung." Martin nodded.  
"Guys, let's talk about Jerry." Dr. Marsh interceded again.  
"Thank you, Dr. Marsh. Did Jerry ever..." Malcolm continued again.  
"I couldn't do that to my dad. You must have really hated him." Burt said cutting him off.  
"No. No. I loved him." Malcolm shook his head, the muscles in his back tensing.  
"I always wanted to be around him. Learn from him. I wanted to be just like my dad. Until I found a girl in a box and realized he was a serial killer."  
"That must have been confusing for you as a child." Friar Pete said.  
"It destroyed me. He destroyed me." Malcolm nodded.  
"My boy, you've got it all wrong. Come on, you all... you all know me. You know I'm a... a good man. Son, I only wanted to share what was most important to me." Martin said.  
"I was a kid, and you showed me horrible, gruesome things, and then you wanted to talk about it. It was the only way I could be close to you. By listening to you. No. Becoming you." Malcolm shot out.  
I shifted my weight onto my right foot.  
"Let's focus on the positives, son." Martin pushed.  
"There aren't any! You wanted to turn me into a monster, a monster like you!" Malcolm jumped up urging me forward.  
I laid my hands on his shoulders and he sagged against me.  
"It's okay. It's okay, baby." I whispered urging him back to his chair.  
"Sorry. Um... Maybe this was a bad idea." Malcolm sighed his hand resting on mine on his shoulder.  
"You are The Surgeon's soon-to-be daughter-in-law." Hector looked up at me.  
"I am." I nodded.  
"It must be weird being an FBI Chief and preparing to marry a serial killer's son." Burt said.  
"I don't look at it that way. I've known Malcolm for a very long time. I'm marrying him, not his father." I ran my fingers through Malcolm's hair.  
"Do people look at you differently?" Friar Pete asked.  
"Not to my face. As mentioned, I'm the Chief of the FBI office. I'm the boss. They wouldn't challenge me over my personal life." I answered.  
"Don't be sorry, Malc. Change comes with pain. Jer used to say that." Hector said after a moment of silence.  
"It's true. He was on a righteous journey himself. Cut too short." Friar Pete added.  
"Uh... were you upset to see him go?" Malcolm asked leaning into me.  
"You're asking the wrong question, Malc. You want to find his killer, answer this: How'd Jerry get on the roof? Did he have a key card on him?" Hector asked us.  
"No. Why?" I asked.  
"You need a card to exit a secure area. Only one card opens all the doors. The gold card." Hector answered me.  
"Gold? Really? Dr. Marsh, who might have one of these elusive gold key cards?" Martin asked.  
"I'm not gonna discuss that here." Dr. Marsh shook his head.  
"Well, do you... have one? Correct me if I'm wrong, son, but it's not uncommon for therapists to have a savior complex. What if Dr. Marsh here couldn't stand that Jerry didn't need him anymore?" Martin asked his son.  
"You don't really think..." Dr. Marsh asked us.  
"No. No, of course not. Though... I would like to see what color key card you have." Malcolm said.  
Dr. Marsh sighed opening his jacket and pulling out his keycard. His gold key card.  
"It's gold! You killed Jerry!" Burt leaped out of his chair and rushed Dr. Marsh.  
Malcolm leaped back out of the chair his arms around me protectively.  
"You killed Jerry!" Burt yelled again punching Dr. Marsh, knocking him to the ground.  
"Let's go!" One of the guards called out.  
"Up against the wall! Move!" Mr. David ordered Martin.  
"You killed Jerry!" Burt yelled.  
"Get him off me." Dr. Marsh yelled ton the guards.  
"Come on, we got to get out of here." One of the guards ushered Malcolm and I out the side door into a small hallway.  
"Wait right there." He told us.  
"Down to the ground!" Someone yelled.  
Martin looked at his through the bars between us with a small smirk. Malcolm nodded then looked down at me.  
Malcolm and I stood behind the two way mirror watching Gil and Dani talk to Dr. Marsh.  
"Espinal says you were issued a new key card an hour ago. You told him you lost the old one. Which is odd, because your old key card accessed multiple locations this morning." Gil told him.  
"It must have been stolen." Marsh shook his head.  
"You're lying to us, Dr. Marsh." Dani pushed.  
"You have to understand. I haven't had a successful patient outcome in years. Jerry's release was my chance to show my therapy can work. Maybe get a publication out of it." He admitted.  
"Assuming Jerry told everyone that you cured him, not The Surgeon." Dani continued.  
"He agreed to lie. In exchange..." Marsh sighed.  
"He wanted a key card." Gil nodded.  
"Just for a few hours. Uh, to say goodbye to friends. You don't know what it's like in here. We're prisoners, too." Dr. Marsh said.  
I looked at Malcolm.  
"He didn't kill Jerry." I sighed.  
"No, he didn't." Malcolm agreed.  
"You don't know that." Gil argued walking into the viewing room with us.  
"Nothing is ever certain but my professional opinion is that he didn't kill him." I answered.  
Still Gil read him his rights and escorted him out to his car.  
"Roll. Lieutenant Arroyo, is Dr. Marsh under arrest? Does this have anything to do with the death of Jerry Chapman?" Ainsley advanced on him as he put Dr. Marsh in the back of the patrol car.  
"No comment." Gil said climbing behind the wheel of the car.  
"Please tell me you can do better." She said walking up to us.  
"Off the record, we don't think we have our guy." Malcolm said.  
"So the killer's in there?" Ainsley asked.  
"Yeah. Along with a bunch of other killers. We've got to get back inside."  
"Wait, we need to talk. It's about that night. I know, it was bad. Forgetting is good. But... I remembered something." She told us quietly.  
"Hey, hey, not here." Malcolm touched her shoulder leading her away from the small crowd.  
"A knife. And blood. A lot of blood. On my hands, even." She shook her head looking between us.  
"Yeah, there was blood. Everywhere. And then you tried to save him, so it got on you, too. I got to get back inside." Malcolm turned on his heel.  
"Wait. You're the only ones I can share this with. You're the only ones who know the truth." She begged.  
"I'm sorry, Ains. We'll talk about this later. I promise. Right now, I have to go talk to Dad." He walked away from us.  
"I'll talk to him, Ains. It'll be okay." I assured her before also walking away.  
"Malcolm!" I called after him.  
"We can't keep shutting her out and expecting her to not seek out your father." I told him.  
"What do we tell her then?" He asked turning to me exasperated.  
"Maybe we just listen. We don't have to tell her anything." I sighed.  
"I can't lose her, Lily."  
"I know that. Neither of us can."  
I rubbed my forehead.  
"Let's finish this case. Then we need to talk to her."  
"To think Dr. Marsh would let Jerry borrow his key card." Martin said as Malcolm and I sat in the cell with him.  
"Well, question is..." Malcolm started as he played with the gold card Espinal gave me.  
"Do we believe his story?" Martin asked.  
"Exactly." I nodded.  
"What if Jerry said no to his madcap scheme? What if he threatened to go to the warden?" Martin suggested.  
"That'd definitely be motive." Malcolm nodded.  
"Oh, man, we are cooking with gas." Martin exclaimed excitedly.  
"Oh, you were amazing in group. You know, the two of us playing off each other. I hate you, I love you. Right out of Inside the Actors Studio." He praised his son.  
"What?" He asked sensing Malcolm's change in demeanor.  
"You keep glancing at this. You're trying to be subtle, but your optokinetic reflexes give you away." Malcolm raised up the card.  
"It's a shiny object. Relax." Martin tried to ease his concerns.  
"What lion doesn't dream of the savanna?" He looked at me.  
"Nobody escapes from a cell like this. Come on."  
"What is it? Is something else bothering you?" He focused back on Malcolm.  
"Ainsley's started to remember things. About that night." Malcolm admitted.  
"Really? What are you gonna do?" Martin asked just before the door opened and Dani walked in.  
"Hey. Espinal found a tape of Jerry using a gold key card to enter the fourth-floor library just before he was killed." She told us.  
"So Marsh was telling the truth." Malcolm nodded thoughtfully.  
"And your suspects just doubled." Martin said.  
"Why, what's on the fourth floor?" Dani asked.  
"Well, that's Ward Z. The women's ward. Oh, it's a magical place, I hear." Martin smiled.  
"There's a women's ward?" Dani asked.  
"Yeah. We should go." I said ushering her and Malcolm out.  
We took the main elevator down to the fourth floor.  
"Wow. It's nice?" Dani looked over at me.  
"Smells like lavender." Malcolm nodded.  
"Lemon verbena, actually." A tall guard said as we walked into the library.  
"Good to know. And you are?" I asked.  
"Andre. Look, we keep this zone locked up. Jerry should never have been here." He answered me.  
"I think Jerry would agree with you." Dani said.  
"There are scratch marks on the frame. Pretty sure they match the color of the paint chips Edrisa found under Jerry's fingernails." Malcolm pointed to a group of four parallel scratches in the paint in a window frame.  
"Looks like we found our crime scene." I nodded.  
"So, he came up here to say goodbye to someone. And within five minutes, was pushed out this window. I'm guessing the farewell didn't go as planned." Malcolm looked at us.  
"Except the library was closed." Dani shook her head.  
"Closed doesn't mean empty. Andre, who else has access?" Malcolm reminded her.  
"Admin, us guards, a cleaning crew." Andre answered.  
"Who's on the cleaning crew?" I asked.  
"Female inmates. Four of 'em."  
"That's it. One of those women was not happy that Jerry was leaving her." Malcolm looked at me.  
"You think he had a girlfriend?" Dani asked.  
"It fits the profile. Romantic abandonment can turn to psychotic jealousy fast. But it would have to be someone who's stuck here for a long time. Andre, how well do you know these four women? Any lifers?" Malcolm continued.  
"All but Carla. She's due to be released next month." Andre answered him.  
"Great. We can rule her out. See? We are already down to three." Malcolm looked at Dani.  
"Anyone over 60?"  
"No."  
"Uh, any with a history of violence?"  
"All of 'em."  
"Physical prowess. Who could push Jerry out that window?"  
"Well, Mariana is six, three. She's real crazy."  
"Sounds like a good suspect." Dani smirked at Malcolm.  
"Mm. Strength is good, but height is bad. Jerry's ego would still be bruised after his last psychotic episode. He would want to feel like the alpha. So we can rule her out, too. Who's left?" Malcolm explained.  
"Rhonda and Ming. They're average-sized ladies." Andre answered again.  
"Should we do "eeny meeny miney mo"? Kidding. I'm just shocked you haven't gotten it down - to one yet." Dani teased him.  
"Who says I haven't?" Malcolm looked at me.  
He knew I found it incredibly attractive when he showed off like that.  
"My father said that Jerry could not stop talking about lobster. But he's from Kentucky, so where did his love of crustaceans come from?"  
"Come on. They can't possibly be..." Dani started but Malcolm raised his hand respectively.  
"Uh. Andre, where's Ming from?"  
"Midwest, I think? Rhonda's from Maine." Andre said and I nodded with a small smile.  
Malcolm snapped his fingers looking proud.  
"You got a suspect from lobster?" Dani shook her head.  
"Well, I could have asked about early childhood trauma and how it leads to insecure-resistant attachment style, but what's the fun in that?" Malcolm teased looking back at me.  
"Dani, let Gil know what we found." I instructed before turning to Andre.  
"Can you take us to Rhonda's room?" I asked.  
"Rhonda Young is in room 458. Right this way, Dr. Russell, Mr. Bright." Andre lead us down the hallway to a private room.  
"Rhonda Young? We're here to talk about Jerry Chapman." Malcolm said as Andre closed the door behind us.  
"Just leave me alone." She muttered not looking at us.  
"I know this is hard. You loved him. You must be in pain." I added gently.  
"You have no idea. He was good to me. Real good. It's all my fault." She shook her head.  
Little does she know. I thought glancing at my fiancé.   
"What did you do, Rhonda?" Malcolm asked.  
"Nothing. That's the problem. I should have done more. He was scared." She answered finally looking over at us.  
"Who was Jerry scared of?" I asked.  
"Another inmate. He wanted to escape. Jerry refused to help, but this guy wouldn't let up. Wouldn't take no. He's terrifying." She told us.  
"Do you know his name?" I continued.  
"They call him The Surgeon." She said.  
I glanced over at Malcolm, his face unreadable to anyone else, but to me there was anger, pain, and confliction behind his eyes.  
"Thank you, Rhonda. That's very helpful." I said gently.  
I turned and knocked on the door then reached behind me and pulled on the back of Malcolm's jacket so he'd follow me.  
As Andre closed the door Malcolm stormed passed me.  
"Malcolm." I called with a sigh.  
"Malcolm Bright, stop!"  
"What?" He turned on me.  
"You know damn well what." I glared at him.  
"Calm down. We don't know what the truth is. Rhonda is still a killer. She is still a patient here. She is not a reliable source of information." I insisted.  
"You're right, but working him up is the best way for us to get the truth." He said.  
"Just be careful, Malcolm."  
He rushed through the hallways to Martin's cell and ripped the door open with my temporary keycard.  
"What the hell are you doing here?" He asked looking at his sister.  
I knew this would happen. I sighed to myself.  
"Well, she's my daughter, Malcolm. Is there some reason why the two of us can't catch up?" Martin asked.  
"I needed someone to talk to about my memory, and you wouldn't listen. He's the only other person who knows." Ainsley shot back at him.  
"Well, you can't talk to him." Malcolm insisted.  
"I can't talk to him, I can't talk to you. This is insane. I feel like I'm going insane." She argued.  
"You're not, I promise."  
"What aren't you telling me?" Ainsley asked her brother looking defeated.  
"He killed Jerry." Malcolm stated.  
"Is that the official position of the NYPD?" Ainsley asked.  
"It's not a news story."  
"Or true." Martin looked at me.  
"If I can get a second source to confirm it, I'm running it. And for the record, I don't know which of you is lying." She glared at us all.  
"Wow, this family. I mean, everyone's on a hunt for the truth. Do you need an antacid? I feel like I need an antacid." Martin asked as I rubbed my forehead.  
"You can drop the act. We spoke to Jerry's girlfriend, Rhonda. She told us everything. Dani's talking to Espinal. You're going back into Solitary. You weren't dreaming of the wild. You wanted to escape. And Jerry wouldn't help you, so you killed him." Malcolm glared at his father.  
"Okay. One: While escape sounds lovely, I'm chained to a wall, remember? Two: Who's Rhonda? And three: Jerry nearly fell on me. How could I have pushed him?" Martin asked.  
"No, but you could have manipulated someone to do it." Malcolm accused.  
"Oh." Martin scoffed.  
"Remember Tevin?" Malcolm pointed out.  
"John Watkins?"  
My chest tightened at the mention of John. COVID had delayed his trial more than once.   
"Honestly, son, everything you're describing sounds like a whole lot of hard work." Martin sighed.  
"You're a psychopath. You don't care who you lie to, who you hurt or kill." Malcolm scoffed at him.  
"I knew it. I knew it. Your little breakdown in group wasn't just for show. You really feel that way about me."  
"Because I can't trust you! I should never have come today. It's exactly what you wanted." Malcolm yelled.  
I reached over and touched his arm soothingly.  
"Oh, oh, this is what I wanted? Oh, that is... that is the single dumbest profile in the history of profiles. Because if I really were the cold-blooded psychopath you think I am... I would hate you. Oh, not for any of this. No, no, no. No, for destroying my life. years ago, you turned me in! Your own father! You ruined me! And your mother! And you ruined her!" Martin yelled right back.  
I turned placing myself between them.  
"But that's not me. Also, I wouldn't kill Jerry, because you're very good at this. You'd solve the crime, and you'd never come back." Martin instantly calmed down.  
Psychopath's are terrifying and annoying.  
"Why would Rhonda try to pin this on you? Have you ever met her?" I asked.  
"No. But celebrities... You know, they're easy targets. It's the burden we bear." Martin shrugged.  
"This felt personal. What did you do to Rhonda, specifically?" Malcolm asked.  
"You cured Jerry. You're the reason he was being released. You stole her love from her." Malcolm turned to look at me.  
"Call Gil." I sighed.  
Malcolm and I stepped out into the courtyard to take a breath.  
"We knew it was possible that she'd start to remember." I told him as we walked together through the empty yard.  
"I know."  
"Can I be blunt?" I asked.  
"Not like you to ask permission." He muttered.  
"The ring on my left finger means I don't have to." I sighed.  
"Us shutting her out like this is very similar to gaslighting." I told him.  
"We can't keep doing this, Malcolm. We have to keep her close. She went to Martin because we shut her out more than once. We can't then be upset with her about that."  
"I know that you're right but what do we say? How do we keep her safe?" He asked me.  
"We'll figure it out as we go. It'll be just like parenting." I sighed.  
"Is that you're way of telling me something?" He looked at me wide-eyed.  
"No!" I laughed.  
"God, no. Malcolm... I've only been off the birth control for a couple weeks." I shook my head.  
"I'd come up with a better way to tell you that you're going to be a father."  
I nudged him causing him to smirk at me.  
"Dr. Russell. Rhonda Young escaped." A guard ran out to where Malcolm and I stood.  
"Your dad." I muttered.  
Malcolm and I ran back into the hospital to find Martin.  
"Come on. Be reasonable. I didn't kill Jerry. We don't need to go to Solitary, Mr. David. I... I'm actually innocent this time." Martin appealed to his guard.  
"Mr. David. Rhonda's escaped, but she's still in the building. I think she's coming for my father." Malcolm said a short distance in front of me.  
"Let's get him back to the cell." Mr. David said looking at us.  
"Thank you." I said following them back to the elevator.  
The elevator doors refused to close as Mr. David hit the button for the second floor repeatedly.  
The moment he stepped out the doors closed leaving Malcolm and I alone with his father.  
"That's odd." Martin muttered.  
"This must be Rhonda. She stole the guard's keycard." Malcolm looked at me.  
"Clever girl." Martin sighed.  
The elevator came to a stop and opened to a boiler room.  
"I'm getting some serious 'Nightmare on Elm Street' vibes, right now." I looked around the room still in the elevator.  
'Oh, yeah, this is a good place for a murder. Now, when you find your place, you just want to go back there again and again. Like a good restaurant." Martin agreed.  
"Please, shut up." Malcolm told his father.  
"Dani, we're in the basement. I'm thinking Rhonda's down here, too. Send backup and I'll try to..." Malcolm said into his phone.  
A clattering came from the distance.  
"Think that was her?" Martin asked followed by more clattering.  
"Yes." Malcolm sighed.  
"Stay here." He looked at me.  
"Wait. Take that." Martin pointed out a large red wrench that Malcolm picked up.  
"Be careful." I looked at Malcolm.  
He leaned in and kissed me.  
"You too."  
Martin and I watched him walk away in uncomfortable silence.  
"Should we really let him go on his own?" Martin asked glancing at me after a long moment of silence.  
"Probably not." I sighed.  
"What's the plan then, Lilian?" He asked.  
I heard Malcolm groan in the distance followed by the faint buzzing of a taser.  
"Shit." I muttered glancing back at the man who would be my father in law in just two short weeks.  
"What? What is it?" He looked back at me.  
"She has a taser." I answered.  
"How could you possibly know that?"  
"I can hear it. She's got him."  
Malcolm groaned again, this time loud enough for Martin to hear him.  
"No. Stop. I'm The Surgeon's son. He's down here. He's coming." Malcolm told her.  
"What do we do?" Martin asked.  
"We use you as bait." I answered catching sight of a set of bolt cutters.  
"You had me spooked there. It's best you learn now nobody's coming for you." Rhonda said before shocking him again and again and again.  
I cut Martin's cuffs and looked up into his face.  
"Do not make me regret this."  
He nodded.  
"Go."  
"So is it true? He really your old man? Well, he left you here to die." Rhonda shocked Malcolm again, holding the trigger down as I made my way around the large crates stored there.  
"Like Jerry left me."  
"Rhonda, don't hurt him." Martin said fairly calmly.  
"What?" She said.  
"Don't hurt him." Martin said again.  
I poked my head around the corner holding my pistol in my hand.  
"That's right. It's your turn." She held a contact taser up near Martin's temple.  
"Okay, Rhonda, please. He has to know." Martin met my eye.  
I stepped silently around the crate.  
"Malcolm? I'm sorry. I made a mistake, okay? I was just so excited to solve a case with you. I was having such a good time, I didn't want it to end." Martin bought me time.  
What are you talking about?  
"Well, this is years of complex father-son relations. You know? It's a little context-dependent, I admit, but, you see, I meant every word of it, son. Best day ever." I raised my gun and pressed it to the back of Rhonda's head.  
"Drop the weapon." I said forcefully.  
"And it's only getting better." Martin grinned at me before rushing to Malcolm's side once Rhonda dropped the tasers.  
"Oh, nicely done, Lily. Did you see that? We got her. We work well together, don't we?"  
I handcuffed Rhonda as Dani and two guards rushed into sight.  
"Oh, what a thrill! Ah, the skulking, the violence, the banter... I can see why you like it so much. Oh, and the best part: Rhonda, you're under arrest. You have the right to remain silent." Martin stood Malcolm up.  
"Don't do that. Stop talking." I raised my hand.  
"Take her back to her cell." Dani took Rhonda from me hand handed her off to the guards.  
"Thank you for saving me." Malcolm looked at me.  
"Always, my love." I answered.  
"I have a request." Martin looked at us as Malcolm leaned against me.  
"What?" I asked.  
"I know I got denied day parole for the wedding but would you both consider coming to visit me after? I'd love to see how you both look in person."  
I looked at my fiancé who looked at me. I nodded slightly.  
"We'll come. It'll be late but we'll come." Malcolm told him.  
Martin beamed at us.  
"That's weird." Malcolm muttered as we walked out to the car.  
"What is?"  
"My mom just texted me. She wants us to come to the house."  
"She texted you?"  
I drove us out to the Whitly estate.  
"So let's get started. I've had a bit of a day." Jessica said when we all sat at the table.  
"What happened? Seemed like you were having fun with Hans." Malcolm asked.  
"Yes, I was. But then I went down a rabbit hole that I never should have gone down. I actually thought..."  
My heart raced a little but I forced my expression and body language to portray ease.  
"It's crazy to say, but I actually thought that you might have killed Nicholas Endicott. I called your father to discuss the possibility, which, of course, only made me more paranoid. And then there was that whole fiasco with the rug. I have to admit I spent the whole afternoon tearing this place apart looking for... I don't know. Evidence, I guess. But I found nothing."   
"Of course you didn't." I chuckled taking Malcolm's hand underneath the table.  
"And then I saw it." She looked directly at us then lifted the lid of the serving platter revealing a large book.  
"You missed a spot."  
"Damnit Aaron." I sighed.  
On the bottom edges of the pages of the book, a single drop of blood, likely from the cast off from the knife.  
"Lilian. Malcolm... what happened to Nicholas Endicott?" Jessica asked pointedly.  
"I killed him." Malcolm answered instantly.  
"You're lying." She picked up right away.  
"I'm just, uh... trying to protect the family. Please. Believe me." Malcolm begged squeezing my hand tightly.  
"Lilian... It was Ainsley, wasn't it? She murdered him." She looked between us.  
I looked over at Malcolm, his fingers trembled in mine.  
"No more lies. Tell me." She exclaimed desperately.  
"She doesn't know. She doesn't remember anything." I said as gently as I could manage.  
I watched Jessica's heart break through her face as she nearly doubled over.  
"Jess..." I said gently.  
"Please.. you can't tell her. I... I don't... We might lose her." Malcolm cut in looking right at her.


	7. Bad Manners

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Malcolm and Lily race to find the killer in the so-called "Debutante Slayings," alongside Ainsley. Her persistence has them worried about what her actual motive might be. While Martin is thrilled to see his daughter's passion in the field, Jessica suggests she and Ainsley take a vacation. Meanwhile, JT meets with his union rep to decide if he should file an official complaint against the cop who discriminated against him.

"Malcolm? What's wrong?" I answered my phone.  
"How long until you're done at the salon?" He asked.  
"I just walked out. What is it?" I asked again.  
"They found another victim. Can you meet us?"  
"That's two in twenty-four hours."  
"He's not slowing down." Malcolm sighed.  
"Send me the address. I'll be right there."  
"Hey. I love you." He said.  
"I love you too."  
I drove straight out to the park where the body lay in a glassless structure on a brick floor.  
"Excuse me, Lieutenant. Does the NYPD have any leads on The Bridal Butcher's identity?" A woman's voice called for Gil as I walked towards him and Malcolm.  
"I can confirm that we have no comment at this time." Gil said pointedly.  
"Can Major Crimes confirm that this is the Butcher's second victim?" Ainsley appeared before him.  
He looked at her then at Malcolm before shaking his finger at her. He walked away towards me.  
"Dr. Russell!" The first voice called my name as Gil walked up to me.  
"How did you beat us here?" He asked as we turned to walk together back to the body.  
"I wasn't far. I'd just finished getting my cut and color for the wedding Thursday night." I answered.  
"Where is everyone? You know I like to share these things with my friends." Malcolm asked walking up to wrap his arm around me.  
"JT's meeting with his union rep and we lost Dani to vice. It's just us three, kid. And Edrisa. What do we have?" Gil answered then looked at her.  
"Oh, it's my own creation. It's a macchiato and a nonalcoholic Four Loko. It will mess you up, but in a good way." She laughed holding her cup.  
"You mean the body, don't you?" She looked at us.  
"Yeah." Gil sighed.  
"Young woman, early twenties." She said.  
I looked down at the woman, younger than Ainsley, dressed in a long white dress with white elbow-length gloves.  
"Any sexual trauma?" Gil asked.  
"No. No marks of any kind. Even the small birthmark at her neck was covered with makeup." Edrisa answered.  
"Same as the last victim. Our killer has a thing for perfection." I sighed looking at Malcolm.  
"We ran down the dress from the first body, no bridal shop recognized it. Must be custom. I'll bet this is the same." Malcolm nodded.  
"There's an access road nearby. Killer didn't have to drag the body far. Same as last time." Gil told us.  
"They took their time. Posed to perfection. This was curated. No, designed." Malcolm observed.  
"So who are we looking for?" Gil asked looking between us.  
"Most likely a man. Thirties, maybe forties, with some serious psychosexual issues. The victims were dressed as brides for a reason. Maybe to appear virginal. Unspoiled." Malcolm began.  
"Unobtainable." Edrisa added.  
"Yes. Rejection is a powerful motivator." Malcolm said.  
"So our killer won't take no for an answer?" Gil asked.  
"Gil... we have a serial killer on our hands." Malcolm said.  
Gil and I both hated when he said that. It never once ended well for us.  
Malcolm and I walked over to a food truck.  
"I like the blonde." Malcolm said toying with my hair.  
"I thought you might. I wanted a more traditional look. I've been thinking about it for awhile now." I answered leaning into him.  
"Hi. Can I get a package of Twizzlers, please?" Malcolm asked the food truck chef.  
"And two lamb gyros, please." I added glaring at my soon-to-be husband.  
"What?" He asked after we got the food.  
"You know what. I can always tell when your struggling when you're only eating Twizzlers and other processed sugars." I sighed.  
"Hey. Hey. What was that back there? You're stonewalling me." Ainsley confronted Malcolm.  
"I'm doing my job." Malcolm's arm tightened around me.  
"Okay, you're avoiding us, And don't say it's because you're chasing a new serial killer. What did Mom do this time?" Ainsley pushed.  
"Nothing." Malcolm said after a pause.  
Ever since Jessica confronted us about Ainsley's involvement in Endicott's death we threw ourselves into work and wedding planning.  
"Lily and I are finalizing the wedding plans for Thursday and there's a new killer on the loose. We're just busy."  
"Come on. Give me something. You can avoid me all you want, but not before you give me a lead. The dresses. Do you know where they're from?" Ainsley asked.  
"We don't. Only that the dresses and the gloves are custom." I admitted beside him.  
"Gloves? Were they elbow-length?" She asked.  
"Yeah. Why?" Malcolm asked.  
"Those aren't brides. Those are debutantes. I got to go. Love you guys." She rushed off.  
"Debutantes." Malcolm muttered.  
"The only running school in New York is Windsor School of Etiquette." I answered.  
"Bet that's what she's thinking too." Malcolm sighed.  
"Without a doubt." I chuckled handing him one of the gyros and taking the package of Twizzlers.  
"Half." I pushed.  
"Fine. Then licorice?"  
"Come on." I chuckled leading him to my car.  
We met Gil back at the morgue to check on the autopsy.  
"Edrisa, have any updates for us?" Gil asked as we walked in the door.  
Edrisa stood in the corner chugging an energy drink. Counting down from four with her fingers.  
"Are you okay?" I asked watching her.  
"Sorry. Coffee stopped working an hour ago. Now I'm drinking this stuff straight." She grinned at me.  
"Both vics had the date rape drug Rohypnol in their systems?" Malcolm asked beside me.  
"But that's not what killed them." I added.  
"Correct. Uh, both women died of asphyxiation. My hunch is that the killer used a debreather." She answered.  
"Debreather?" Gil asked.  
"They're normally used in assisted suicide. Form follows function. Rohypnol to incapacitate them, the debreather to kill them. All so they wouldn't leave a mark." I answered.  
"Um, are we sure this ID is correct?" Malcolm asked looking through the file.  
"Well, the family identified her a half hour ago. Why?" She looked over at him.  
"Look at her eyes." He answered.  
"Oh, wow! Heterochromia iridum." Edrisa exclaimed.  
"In English? " Gil sighed..  
"Her eyes are different colors. Generally, one is blue and the other one is brown." I chuckled softly.  
"Like Max Scherzer. The Nationals pitcher. Three-time Cy Young winner. World Series champion! Where's JT?" Edrisa chuckled nervously.  
"Right, but in your report, you said that she had... Two blue eyes." Malcolm read.  
"Yeah, two blue eyes." She nodded then walked over and opened her eyes  
"He replaced the brown one. This isn't about rejection for our killer." I said looking at Malcolm.  
"It's about idealization. They had to make Allison perfect." Malcolm nodded.  
Edrisa took a metal tool and struck the replaced eye making a clink noise. The eye was glass.  
"And suddenly I'm wide-awake." Gil muttered.  
"Twizzlers?" Malcolm looked at me as we walked towards the elevator.  
"Did you eat half the gyro?" I asked.  
"I did." He promised.  
I handed him his package of Twizzlers.  
JT stood talking to another detective when the elevator doors opened on the Major Crimes floor.  
"Licorice?" Malcolm asked when he joined us.  
"No. No lollipops, no licorice. What is it with you and candy anyway?" JT sighed.  
"Processed sugar creates a strong dopamine response in the brain, essential for both those in pursuit of deranged murderers and insomniacs." Malcolm explained with a grin.  
"I did get him to eat half a gyro. How was your meeting with the union?" I asked.  
"That's why you're marrying him. It went great. If I make my complaint against O'Malley official, we both get suspended for twenty days." He sighed.  
"But you didn't do anything wrong." Malcolm looked at me.  
"Yeah. And the the force is always gonna protect itself." JT sighed.  
"Whatever you decide to do. It doesn't effect my investigation." I told him.  
"You don't need a formal complaint?" He asked.  
"I'm FBI. I don't need NYPD's cooperation to investigate an officer's misconduct. That's the point of it." I answered.  
He paused for a moment considering that.  
"Let's work. The glass eye in the victim.. It's not medical. They aren't meant for humans. They're doll eyes." He changed the subject handing me a file.  
"Like toy dolls?" Malcolm asked.  
"Yeah, I thought that'd grab your attention. I'm chasing down local doll makers." He looked at Malcolm.  
"These killings are about the illusion of perfection, but it's childlike, juvenile. We're looking for someone with an arrested development and probably deep childhood trauma." Malcolm looked at me.  
"Turns out Allison Vinhouse and Trina Chandler both participated in debutante balls in high school. And they also both went here, the Windsor School of Etiquette." Gil said walking into the room.  
"Lily and my sister went there, too." Malcolm told them.  
I glared at him. I'd failed out of Windsor in less than a year.   
"Then you two take the school. JT and I will take a run at the doll maker." Gil said leading JT out of the room.  
"Dr. Whitly?" Malcolm answered his ringing phone.  
"Malcolm, it's Dad! Where you been, bud? Thought we had a good thing going here, you know? Solving crimes, cracking jokes. We were partners, just like the old... Starky and... uh, Tubbs!" Martin said as Malcolm put the phone on speaker so I could hear.  
"You're mixing your buddy cops." Malcolm chuckled softly.  
"Well, you know me... I always root for the bad guy. Now, speaking of scary people, you really should have told me that your mother had found out about the... Ainsley thing."  
My heart skipped a beat.  
"What happened?" Malcolm asked looking at me.  
"Uh, well, I'd rather not get into it over the phone, but, uh... she's got this fakakta plan to hide Ainsley in some posh European resort, away from us." Martin complained.  
"I can promise you neither Ainsley nor mom are going anywhere three days before the wedding. Plus, Ainsley's not going anywhere when there's a serial killer dropping bodies. It's too good of a story."   
"Indeed. Uh, speaking of The Bridal Butcher, I have thoughts." Martin said.  
"They're not brides. His victims were debutantes." I finally cut in.  
"Debutantes? Ooh. Now I have more thoughts. You know, when I worked the ER, debutante season was awash with overdoses, and attempted suicides. The pressure those girls are put under... Oh, it's criminal." Martin sighed.  
"Don't remind me. It was brutal for Ains. Bullied and shunned for your crimes. Maybe that's..."  
"What, debutante school changed her? All that teasing made her capable of... stuff?"  
"I don't know." Malcolm sighed heavily.  
"No, my boy. It wasn't my arrest. No, your sister's been like this ever since she was a little girl. You know, the drive. Those instincts. Yeah, she's made of tougher stuff." Martin said.  
I automatically thought back to when Jessica told Malcolm the same thing after Ainsley's interview with The Surgeon albeit about himself.  
"Because she's your daughter?" Malcolm asked   
"No. Because she's her mother's." Martin answered.  
I nudged him gently.  
"Dr. Whitly. Lily and I need to go." Malcolm said before hanging up.  
"Come on."  
Malcolm and I drove out to the Windsor School.  
"She doesn't want me here." I sighed looking up at the mansion.  
"But I need you here." He looked at me.  
"Okay. Okay. Let's go." I conceded easily.  
"Hello?" Malcolm called as we walked in.  
"What did they even teach you here, anyway?" He asked catching sight of his sister looking over pictures in the corner.  
"Proper posture. Table manners. How to demonstrate respect towards others." Ainsley answered looking at me.  
"Two out of three's not bad." Malcolm sighed.  
"You're just peeved I beat you here." She accused.  
"I'm annoyed because you're treating solving a murder like it's a competitive sport." Malcolm responded.  
"We're brother and sister. Everything is a competitive sport." She whined.  
"There are two dead women, Ainsley. How does that make you feel?" He asked.  
I reached out and touched his hand.  
"It... It's terrible. Why... why would you even ask me that?" She looked at her brother, her expression pained.  
"I'm sorry. Places like this just remind me of the people who cut us off after Dad's arrest. Etiquette doesn't mean anything, Ains. All it does is cover up the truth." He covered for himself.  
"I beg to differ. Good manners hold society together. Cultivation of civility allowed European cultures to flourish." Ms. Sarah Windsor said walking down the stairs.  
"Well, that and a healthy dose of colonialism." Malcolm responded.  
"Miss Windsor, so lovely to see you again." Ainsley said rushing to stand near us.  
"You as well, Miss Whitly. Miss. Russell." She glared at me.  
"It's Doctor now, Miss. Windsor." I corrected.  
"Yet still so disrespectful."  
"I give my respect to those who have earned it."  
Malcolm cleared his throat and looked at his sister.  
"Please, Miss. Windsor, allow me to introduce my brother, Malcolm." She said drawing her attention from me.  
"Bright. Malcolm Bright. I'm with the NYPD and Lilian is the FBI Chief. We're here about the murders of Allison Vinhouse and Trina Chandler." Malcolm continued.  
"I was devastated to learn what happened. Since I've never had children of my own, I think of my students... as family."  
I fought my urge to scoff.  
"Of course. Can you think of any reason why someone would have killed them?" Malcolm discreetly touched my back in an attempt to calm me.  
"One should never speak ill of the dead, but I did hear whispers about parties, drugs, ill behavior." She glared at me again.  
"Can we see your class lists, contact numbers?" Malcolm asked.  
"The parents who entrust their daughters with us expect discretion, Mr. Whitly." She looked at him.  
The slip wasn't accidental. It was pointed as was everything she did.  
"Bright. Just Bright." Malcolm corrected.  
"You're absolutely correct. They do need to go get a warrant, but I'm sure you wouldn't object to walking an old pupil down memory lane?" Ainsley cut in.  
"Miss Windsor, excuse my forwardness, but we're offering you discretion. The NYPD won't give you that courtesy. They will open every door here and read every file you have. Lilian can make one phone call and have absolutely every secret you've ever wanted to keep. But if you help us now, we can make sure that doesn't happen." Malcolm insisted.  
It was a slight exaggeration. It'd probably take at least two.  
"Dr. Russell, Mr. Bright, do follow me." She conceded.  
Malcolm and I followed behind her and around the corner.  
"Could you wait here? Guests are not allowed beyond this point." She said just beyond a doorway before turning on her heel to walk away.  
Almost immediately Malcolm took a step through the doorway.  
"Malcolm." I sighed reaching for him and pulling him back into the hallway.  
"Doesn't she hate me enough already?"  
"Lily?" Malcolm said my name looking over my shoulder.  
I turned and there sitting in the light from a doorway sat a porcelain doll.  
I'd seen that movie and I was ready to go.  
"Sorry. I must have left her there." A young woman's voice said from behind us.  
She pushed between us and picked up the doll.  
"I'm Rachel, Miss Windsor's assistant. I have the admission rolls for you." She said handing Malcolm the file.  
"Aren't you a little old for dolls?" Malcolm asked.  
"Oh, all of the students get one. Miss Windsor believes they help model behavior. The dolls are silent and perfect. As they should be." She answered.  
I almost threw up. That's why I was kicked out. I didn't fit her mold.  
"Do you know who makes them?" I asked regaining my composure.  
"Mr. Falvey. He's wonderful." She answered.  
"Thank you." I said.  
Malcolm called Gil as we walked out to the car.  
"Gil, Trevor Falvey made custom dolls for the etiquette school. He's our link." Malcolm said.  
"He said he'll call us back." He lowered the phone.  
"We'll meet them at the precinct."  
As we walked out of the elevator Officer O'Malley ran into me.  
"Watch where you're going, bitch." He growled before even looking at me.  
Malcolm moved to stand between us.  
"Malcolm. Baby, it's alright." I laid my hand on his shoulder.  
"Oh. Excuse me, Dr. Russell." O'Malley amended.  
"Don't be fake, O'Malley. Show me exactly who you are. It'll make my investigation that much easier." I said before turning around.  
He reached out and grabbed my arm. Malcolm grabbed his wrist and removed his hand from me.  
"Do not touch her." Malcolm growled.  
"Need your man to fight your battles?" He asked me over Malcolm's shoulder.  
"No. I don't. At least he's man enough to respect me and want to defend me. I'm sure your wife would truly appreciate such a man. Unfortunately, she landed you." I answered.  
"Malcolm. Gil's waiting in interrogation."  
Malcolm released him and turned back to me.  
"Let's go."  
Malcolm and I met Gil in the viewing room.  
"Everything okay?" He asked sensing Malcolm's anger.  
"That cop touched her. He ran into her off the elevator, called her a bitch and grabbed her arm." Malcolm explained.  
I touched him gently.  
"Malcolm, I'm fine." I assured him.  
"You can still file charges for assault on a federal official." Gil reminded me.  
"What message does that send to JT? To Dani?" I asked.  
"If he files a complaint he gets suspended for twenty days; I do it and something actually happens to him?" I sighed.  
"That has less to do with your skin color than it does with your title." Gil said.  
"But my skin color doesn't hurt my cause. No one should be punished for speaking out against a wrong." I pushed.  
"You're right. It's all wrong." Gil shook his head.  
"Being a rich, white woman in power shouldn't put my life above someone else's."  
"Let's get this interrogation over with." Gil sighed.  
"Go. We'll watch." I sighed.  
"We searched your shop, Trevor. We found more human-size eyeballs. And these. Pictures of Miss Windsor's students. Lots... of pictures." Gil said walking into the interrogation room laying pictures on the table before him.  
"She sent them to me. She wanted the dolls to look like her students. I'm not some sicko. I'm a doll maker." Trevor said.  
"Okay, Malcolm. Go." I sent him in for his part.  
"What about the sex dolls?" Gil pushed.  
"I make those, too. Some guy in Osaka wants the perfect woman, I can make her. That doesn't make me a creep or a killer." He argued.  
"Oh, you're a creep alright." I muttered.  
The door opened and Malcolm walked in with a large evidence box.  
"Oh..." He chuckled.  
"Bright, we're in the middle of..." Gil started.  
"Oh, good. You're still here." Malcolm set the box down on the table and pulling out the doll head.  
"I got to hand it to you, Trevor, this is a work of art. Pygmalion worthy." Malcolm looked at him.  
"What are you doing?" Gil asked playing his part effortlessly.  
"Is this the one you tried to steal?" Malcolm asked Trevor.  
"I wasn't trying to steal her." Trevor stood up.  
"'Her.' Oh, gosh, I'm sorry. Who do I have the pleasure of holding here?"  
"Dolores. Her name is Dolores. She was my first." Trevor answered sitting back down.  
"Oh. Well, you never forget your first." Malcolm nodded.  
I rolled my eyes so hard I almost saw my own brain.  
"Bright. Can I talk to you for a second?" Gil asked.  
"Sure. I'll just, uh..." Malcolm set the head on the table facing him.  
"Let's let him sit for a few. See how he handles the stress." Gil said when they joined me.  
"You were watching the interrogation, what do you think?" He asked me.  
"He has objectophilia. Or, more specifically, agalmatophilia." I answered.  
"They got a word for everything." Gil muttered.  
"Agalmatophiles form romantic attachments to inanimate human forms... Sculptures, dolls. He has a psychosexual patholog, but the doll is his outlet. His release." I continued.  
"Makes him a bad suspect." Malcolm added   
"He's not our guy, is he?" Gil asked and I shook my head.  
"I'll go give him his head back." Malcolm smirked at me before leaving.  
"Are you really okay?" Gil asked after he left.  
"I'm fine. I'm just frustrated. I want to fix this for JT, for Dani, for every good cop, good Black cop, good Black person that's experienced this kind of discrimination and racism, but I don't know how." I sighed.  
"It's hard for you to admit you don't know something." He nodded.  
"Yes, but that's not it. I'm the most powerful person in New York city. I'm more powerful than the mayor. I'm even more powerful than the governor but I can't protect my friends from this. JT and Tally named me as Godmother for their son and I'm terrified that I can't protect him. Did Malcolm tell you I stopped taking my birth control?" I asked.  
"No. He didn't."  
"There's so much hate in this world. I want my own children and I know I can protect them but this attack on JT... It showed me that it's not so easy for everyone."  
I felt a tear roll down my face.  
"I know you'll raise your children to love everyone equally and only judge based on words and actions." Gil reassured me.  
"It occurred to me recently that we didn't have friends that weren't white when we were kids. I didn't in Colorado either. We didn't meet Vijay until middle school." I sighed.  
"That was twenty plus years ago. Parents were like that in the nineties. Especially rich parents. You just said how powerful you are but you're influential too. That's how you can change things for JT, Tally, Dani, and even Edrisa and myself. Show the world how to love. They'll follow you, Lilian." He smiled at me.  
"But please remember this isn't all on you. Malcolm told me what you did for JT that night. Stepping in between them like that. That's how you show them they aren't alone in their fight. Yes, it's different for you but it's only when the powerful truly stand in defense of those discriminated against that things will actually change."  
I nodded thoughtfully a moment.  
"Malcolm's going to want to talk to Martin. We'll be back before the meeting with O'Malley and the union rep." I sighed.  
As expected Malcolm returned and asked me to drive him out to Claremont.  
"You like the doll maker?" Malcolm asked as I leaned against the wall.  
"Oh! Love the doll maker. An exhibitionist objectophile? Freud would be in heaven. But he's not a killer." Martin answered glancing at me.  
"What about the eyes?" Malcolm pushed.  
"Don't get lost in the eyes. Your doll maker's a romantic. They don't have the commitment for serial work. But you knew that. You're here for Ainsley, aren't you?" Martin refocused on his son.  
"She's treating this case like it's some sort of game. A race to find the killer." Malcolm sighed heavily.  
"Worried she's gonna put the clues together and figure it all out before you?" Martin teased.  
"What do you want me to do? Should I chloroform her? Is that it?" Malcolm asked pointedly.  
"No, of course not. Ugh! I was wrong to do that to you. And if I haven't apologized enough, I'm sorry. I could have handled that whole mess... a lot better." Martin sighed.  
"You think?" Malcolm looked at him.  
"My boy, we've won. We're getting away with it. This is the fun part."  
"It doesn't feel fun." Malcolm shot at him.  
"Well, I wonder how it would feel for her. If my little girl knew. Well, there's a chance she'd be proud of herself. Just like I'm proud of you." Martin said.  
"Do not threaten him, Martin." I growled.  
"It's not a threat, Lilian. Just a statement." He smiled at me.  
"Russell." I answered my ringing phone.  
"Lily. We have a problem." Gil said.  
"What kind of problem?" I asked drawing both Malcolm and Martin's attention.  
"Ainsley found a body. Made a video." Gil answered.  
"Of course she did." I sighed.  
"We'll be right there."  
"Lily?" Malcolm said after I hung up.  
"Come on." I said knocking on the door.  
Mr. David opened the door to let us out.  
"Thank you." I said walking down the hallway.  
"Lily. Lily, what's wrong?" Malcolm asked.  
"I didn't want to say it in front of your father. Ainsley found another body. She took a live video." I answered.  
I drove us back to the precinct.  
"I'm Ainsley Whitly, and I've just found the third victim of New York City's newest serial killer, The Debutante Slayer. I've called the police and obscured the face of the victim. But please stay tuned for more exclusive details from the scene."  
Gil, Malcolm, Ainsley, and I watched her video in the conference room.  
Gil dropped the remote on the table in aggravation.  
"What in the hell were you doing? And if you say 'my job', I'm gonna arrest you for obstructing a murder investigation." Gil asked her.  
She took a business card out of her wallet and set it on the table sliding it towards him.  
"The lawyers at ADN. They're looking forward to your call. And my brother can put you in contact with our family attorney." She said defiantly.  
"Try psychiatrist. You find a body and you shoot, what, a promo? What if the killer was still there?" Malcolm exclaimed.  
"Well, then the video would be much more exciting." She shot at him.  
"Ainsley." I said her name as gently as I could as her phone dinged.  
"How did you know Violet?" I asked touching Malcolm's arm.  
"A few classes in college, but we met at Miss Windsor's school. I got in contact with every debutante I knew, especially those with drug problems and left her a message yesterday thinking it'd go nowhere. Then she called." She explained to me.  
"What did she tell you?" I asked again as her phone dinged again.  
"Uh, that she was scared. That's it. She wanted to talk in person." She looked up at me finally but her phone dinged once again  
"Who is that?" Malcolm exclaimed pulling her attention away from me.  
"I'm working." She snapped.  
"My producers want updates. My agents want to use this as leverage to up my deal with the network. And the next ten texts are from Mom. Can I go now?" She looked at Gil finally.  
"I want the video from that phone and a list of the girls that you called, or that phone is mine." He said.  
She sighed and looked down at her phone.  
"Now you have the video and screenshots of all of my texts. Now, will you please stop being sore losers and let me go back to work?" She almost growled.  
"Ainsley, you're being reckless." Malcolm leaned forward gripping the back of the chair in front of him.  
"Malcolm..." I said his name gently.  
"Oh, my God! Are we not gonna talk about the crazy hypocrisy of you lecturing me about being reckless? Someone needs to catch this killer. It might as well be me." She yelled at him then turned on her heel and walked out.  
"That was the wrong thing to do, wasn't it?" He asked me.  
"Yes. It was." I sighed.  
"Lily." Gil said drawing my gaze.  
"It's time."  
"Okay. I'm right behind you." I answered.  
"Gil and I are going to a meeting with JT, O'Malley, and the department rep. Please, try to stay out of trouble." I looked at my love.  
"Of course." He smiled sadly at me.  
"Be careful." He leaned over and kissed me.  
When I walked out of the room I saw Jessica run over to Gil.  
"Is Ainsley okay? I saw the news." She asked as I walked up to them.  
"She's fine." Gil said.  
"Is she involved?" She glanced at me.  
"Involved? How?" Gil asked.  
'Um, I don't know. Uh, in no way. I'm just... I'm... I'm losing my mind, worrying." She amended gauging my expression.  
"Lily. Jessica, what's going on? Both of you and Malcolm are at 11, and I've never seen Ainsley like that." He looked between us.  
"I know. She's so damn willful. Her father thinks it's..." She started.  
I looked at her wide eyed. I didn't know she'd been to see Martin.  
"Her father? Jessica, you went to him?" Gil asked incredulously.  
"It was stupid." She admitted.  
"Damn right it was. Look, you don't need to talk to Martin. I'm here. Whatever you need, I'm here." Gil looked at her.  
Then he looked at me. I knew we'd have to talk later.  
"Boss, we got to go." JT said walking up to us.  
"Got it. Where is Ainsley?" Gil asked.  
"Network sent a car for her." He answered.  
"I'm too late." Jessica sighed.  
"I don't know. You were right on time for me." Gil smiled at her.  
"We will talk later." I whispered to her before following Gil and JT to the conference room.  
"Listen, no one wants this getting political or... God forbid... In the papers. So if we can get our stories straight, I think everyone'll be happy." Department Rep Colin Rush said once the four of us set down.  
"You want my guy to lie." Gil accused.  
"I'm no racist. Detective Tarmel was running into an active crime scene. It was dark. Could have been anyone." O'Malley nearly growled.  
"Any boy?" JT shot back.  
"Nobody heard that. I'm not going down for this." O'Malley continued.  
I forced myself to remain silent but then he looked at me.  
"I don't understand what she's doing here."  
Gil began to answer but I raised my hand.  
"I represent the FBI and the Internal Affairs investigation into your actions against Detective Tarmel that night and Major Crimes as a whole by refusing to respond to a call for backup in the following weeks." I answered.  
"Guys, I am just trying to mediate this." Rush said as O'Malley and I stared at one another.  
I felt my phone vibrate.  
Ainsley went back to Windsor. I'm going after her. I love you. Malcolm's text read.  
'Tarmel, if you feel the need to bring an official complaint... Which is your right... We can do that. But these things can get messy." Rush continued.  
Gil's phone vibrated next.  
"I don't see how it ends well for either of you." Rush concluded.  
"Bright's going to the school." Gil told JT who looked over at me.  
"He's gonna need backup. We're done here." JT stood up.  
"We are not done here. I need an answer. Are you filing?" Rush confronted him.  
"You have no right to rush him." I growled then JT set his hand on my shoulder.  
"No. You're scared. That's why you're such a miserable cop. 'Cause that hatred you feel... It's poison. But I'm not gonna let it poison my life, too." JT answered looking right at O'Malley.  
"Come on." He urged me towards the door.  
"And now we're done." I heard Gil said smugly as I rushed towards the front door.  
"Malcolm." I called his name just as he was about to get into a taxi.  
"Thank you for coming." He told the driver before following me to my car.  
I flipped my siren to rush through the city shutting it off at the end of the school's driveway.  
Malcolm jumped out of the car and ran towards the front door.  
"Rachel said she'll get Miss. Windsor." He told me anxiously when I joined him shortly after.  
The door opened and Miss. Windsor looked down her nose at us.  
"To what do I owe the pleasure?" She asked mostly looking at Malcolm.  
"Miss Windsor, is my sister here?" He asked.  
"You should have called first. Miss Whitly is not here. Good night." She almost spat at him before turning away from him.  
"You're lying!" Malcolm accused catching the closing door.  
"What gives you the right to..." She began turning back to look at him.  
"Etiquette. You turned your back on me, a guest. Manners dictate a proper exit. You can show me the door firmly, not dismissively. You'd only risk incivility to hide another break in decorum. Lying." Malcolm explained.  
"I'm not lying!" She yelled at him.  
"A raised voice. And you used a contraction, which is shocking given, you know, you." I cut in.  
"Who are you to judge me? I am perfectly within my right to do whatever..." She took a step towards me.  
"The last victim received a call from your private line." Malcolm pulled her attention from me.  
"I never use that number..." She trailed off.  
"What is it?" Malcolm asked.  
"Who are we looking for, Miss Windsor? Sarah, is the killer here?" I asked.  
"Your sister's up in the tea room. Go." She looked at us.  
"Ainsley?!" Malcolm called out for her as we ran to the tea room but she wasn't there.  
"Ainsley!" He called again when we reached the bottom of the stairs again.  
"Ainsley?" He said again, desperation coloring his voice.  
I heard a clattering from behind the wall.  
"Malcolm." I said his name motioning him over to the wall.  
Muffled voices continued from behind the wall.  
Malcolm and I worked together to find the door handle. The lock clicked and he pushed the door open. I pulled my gun from it's holster at my hip.  
"Be careful." I said as we slowly walked into the hidden hallway.  
"I won't let the banks close the school. Take all of this from Miss Windsor. From us." Rachel's voice said from behind a lone door at the end of the hallway.  
"Don't worry. You won't feel a thing."  
Malcolm looked through the slats in the wall.  
"She has the debreather." Malcolm mouthed at me just before his phone vibrated.  
"You should know... I have a gun!" Rachel exclaimed.  
"Is it Ainsley in there?" I asked silently to which he nodded.  
"Go." I urged.  
"I've got your six."  
He nodded and walked to open the door as I stayed out of sight.  
"You're not supposed to be in here. No man has ever been in here." Rachel stuttered looking at Malcolm.  
I made my way around the room within the walls to a second door in the back of the room.  
"I apologize. I'm here for Ainsley." He said pointing at her unconscious form.  
"Get out!" Rachel yelled at him.  
I watched him glance at some papers to his side.  
"The victim's names. You crossed them out." He said calmly as I caught his eye.  
My gun held firmly in my hand.  
"They betrayed everything that this school stood for." She said her voice shaking slightly.  
"Whose room is this, Rachel? The bed, the dolls. Who lives here?" Malcolm asked but she didn't answer him.  
"Miss Windsor's your mother." He guessed.  
"There are some things that people do not need to know." Rachel raised her gun, pointing it at Malcolm.  
My heart leaped into my chest nearly forcing me into action. Malcolm raised his hand signaling me to wait.  
"I'm not sure I agree. What if hiding the truth hurts people? Turns a person into something they are not?"  
I knew he was having concerns about how hiding the truth was impacting Ainsley.  
"No, she gave me a home. She loved me." Rachel countered.  
"But never like the other girls. So you directed your rage towards Violet, Trina, Allison. These women that rejected the love that you craved so much. And Ainsley. She was going to expose the truth." Malcolm said.  
"My mother called me her secret angel. No one can ever know the truth."  
Ainsley stood up, holding a small knife in her hand. I reached over at grabbed her arm raising my finger to my mouth to keep her quiet. She sighed silently looking at me.  
"Rachel, the gun is not like the debreather. It's brutal, violent." Malcolm said as I advanced on her.  
"Don't worry. I'm gonna make your sister beautiful." Rachel said.  
Ainsley shifted her weight causing the floor to creak beneath her.  
Rachel spun around swinging the gun that I barely stopped. I slammed my fist into her ribs holding her wrist in my hand forcing it away from Ainsley and I. She pulled the trigger firing a shot into the wall.  
I turned so my back pressed against her chest. I lifted her arm and slammed it against my shoulder until she dropped the gun. I crouched down slightly and pulled her arm so she flipped over my head landing hard on her back.  
"Are you okay?" Malcolm asked rushing up to me.  
"Yeah. Ainsley?" I asked looking at her.  
"I smell gas." Malcolm said.  
"What?" Ainsley asked.  
"We need to get out of here. Now! Come on." I said grabbing her arm.  
"Come on!" I called to Malcolm who picked up Rachel's unconscious body pulling it over his shoulders.  
"Go. Run." I urged Ainsley forward towards the front door constantly checking behind me to make sure Malcolm kept up.  
Ainsley stopped in front of me when we were halfway down the driveway. Malcolm stopped behind me and laid Rachel's unconscious body in the grass.  
"What is she doing?" Ainsley asked looking up at Miss. Windsor standing at the window.  
"Oh my God." I breathed noticing what looked like a box of matches in her hand.  
"Nothing good." Malcolm said as we watched her strike a match.  
In less than a second the second floor of the mansion exploded in flames. Malcolm pulled Ainsley and I towards him in an attempt to shield us from the glass and debris raining down from the explosion.  
Gil and JT arrived shortly thereafter.  
"Is everyone okay?" Gil asked walking over to me after the firefighters finally put out the fire.  
"I think so." I nodded.  
"You and Malcolm take Ainsley home and get some rest. The next two days will be a whirlwind." He smirked at me.  
"Thanks Gil." I smiled at him.  
"That was crazy, and that's coming from someone who knows a little something about crazy." Ainsley said when I climbed into the driver's seat.  
"This city never fails to surprise me." Malcolm nodded.  
"Yeah." Ainsley mused.  
She sat directly behind me.  
"And neither do you." He turned to look at her.  
She chuckled softly.  
"Tell me, how were you not drugged?" He asked.  
"Ah. New nail polish. It changes color when your drink's been roofied. I figured Rachel would get a little suspicious if I didn't at least act a little drowsy, so..." She trailed off a little.  
"I guess this means I kind of won? Like, I solved the case first?" I caught her looking over at her brother in my rear view mirror.  
"What? Why are you looking at me like I'm The Debutante Slayer?"  
I glanced over at Malcolm.  
"It's not that." He sighed.  
"Exactly. I'm the kick-ass reporter who stopped the killer. With your help, of course." She chuckled again.  
Malcolm looked back at me and I could see the pain lying behind his eyes.  
"You put yourself in danger." He looked back at Ainsley.  
"But I had to figure it out. Not who did it, but... Why she did it." She explained glancing at me.  
"Yeah. We get that." I nodded taking Malcolm's hand.  
"My father was a serial killer also, Malcolm. I was young, but I have a right to be messed up, too."  
I knew that continuing to hide the truth from her would only make things worse. I'd have to convince Malcolm to tell her after the honeymoon.


	8. Then. Now. Forever

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Despite the insanity surrounding their lives and their family Malcolm and Lily decide to follow through with their New Years Eve wedding.

Lily?" Sophie said my name walking up behind me in Jessica's living room at our rehearsal dinner the night before our wedding.  
She stood in a pink satin A-line dress with a small silver box in her hands.  
"What's that, my friend?" I smiled at her.  
"I went through the last box from Eve's apartment last night and I found this." She handed me the box.  
"What is it?" I asked looking at the box in my hands.  
"I don't know. There's a card though." She shrugged.  
A small white card attached to the wrapping paper with a single piece of clear tape. My name printed in Eve's handwriting.  
I took a deep shaky breath before opening the card.  
For your 'Something New'  
I remember how upset you were about not being able to find it. I know a guy. ;)  
Love you, girl.  
Love,  
Eve  
I unwrapped the box already knowing what it was. Tom Ford Tuscan Leather Intense Eau de Parfum.  
"I, uh... A week before our engagement party Eve and I were at the loft talking about plans and I mentioned that this was the perfume I wanted to wear for the wedding but I couldn't find it." I explained quietly staring at the black box in my hand.  
"Thank you, Sophie. Thank you for finding this." Tears stung the back of my eyes.  
"I miss her too, Lil." She said hugging me tight.  
"Lily?" Dani's voice pulled me from my thoughts as we sat with Jessica, Sophie and Ainsley in the back of the limousine on the way to Winter Rose Castle.  
"Hmm?" I turned to face her as she sat directly next to me.  
I felt incredibly glad that I'd chosen cry-proof mascara as a rogue tear trailed down my cheek.  
"Are you doing okay?" She asked gently touching my arm.  
"Yeah. Yeah." I smiled shaking my head softly.  
My hair tickling my bare back styled into a twisted crown braid half updo.  
"You've been staring out the window awhile." She smirked at me reaching up to wipe the tear from my face.  
"I was thinking about Eve." I admitted looking over at Sophie who smiled warmly at me.  
"We all miss her." She said with a small nod.  
She and Ainsley wore gold floor length a-line dresses with thin straps and a v-neckline.  
"It just feels like the day is moving so fast. I want to cherish every second but it's all just a blur."  
"I hear that's normal." Dani said squeezing my forearm gently.  
Dani's maid of honor dress, nearly identical to Sophie and Ainsley's dresses except for a thigh high slit and off the shoulder sleeves.  
"It is. When I married Martin it was a complete whirlwind. All of the sudden, I was standing outside the church on my daddy's arm ready to walk down the aisle." Jessica said smiling at me, her gold mother of the groom dress had lace three quarter off the shoulder sleeves and a sweetheart neckline.  
Despite what Martin had done in the time since, she had truly loved him when she married him and he did give her two children she adored.  
Our limousine turned down the driveway leading to the large castle like mansion lined with still lit blue Christmas trees. At just after nine on New Years eve the castle lay mostly empty anticipating our arrival. Malcolm and the groomsmen would arrive within the hour.  
We walked into the gold ballroom where we'd hold our roughly two hour long reception after the ceremony while the roughly one hundred and fifty guest were seated in the grand hallway. A large diamond chandelier hung in the exact center of the room. Most of the tables set up in a square with a large empty space near the double staircase for the pictures.  
"It's fine. It feels fine." I insisted as my loving bridesmaids worried over my dress.  
I twirled just to prove a point.  
My diamond satin A-line ballgown skirt spun with me and my fitted V-Neck bodice shined under the florescent lights.  
"Let's get some solo pictures of our bride then we'll do the 'something blue, borrowed, and used." Our photographer, Kelly Stewart said before guiding me through various poses throughout the ballroom.  
"Okay, Dani first." Kelly motioned her forward.  
"'Something Blue'." Dani handed me a long, thin jewelry box.  
I already wore diamond drop earrings with a matching necklace and bracelet.  
I opened the box to find an elegant women's diamond encrusted watch with sapphire accents.  
"It's beautiful, Dani." I smiled at her.  
"My uncle's a jeweler." She smiled helping me fasten the watch onto my left wrist.  
"It's perfect."  
Kelly ushered Jessica forward to switch places with Dani.  
"'Something Old'." She smiled handing me the box.  
A vintage scroll bridal tiara sat on a pink pillow inside.  
"My mother wore this when she married my father. She was convinced it clashed with my wedding dress when I married Martin so I didn't wear it which in hindsight was probably for the best considering how that worked out but I think it'll help finish your look." She told me as I lifted it gingerly from the box.  
She helped me fasten it in my hair and took a step back to look at me.  
"I was right. It's perfect." She smiled wiping a rogue tear from her eye.  
"Thank you, Jessica." I reached forward and hugged her.  
"One day you'll pass it along to your daughter or the one destined for your son." She winked at me.  
"Okay. Gil, it's your turn." Kelly motioned him forward.  
"I have something for you for your 'Something Borrowed'." He said almost shyly handing me a medium long thin box.  
Inside was a glittered sheer veil. Gil helped me fasten it in the tiara I wore. The back of the veil brushed the back of my ankles.  
"Jackie wore this to our wedding in 2000. I know she'd want you to wear it tonight." He smiled at me.  
"It's perfect." I smiled back at him.  
Kelly guided me through another dozen solo portraits then posed with my bridesmaids followed by Jessica then Gil.  
Finally, a full group picture with Gil, Jessica, Dani, Ainsley, and Sophie.  
"Malcolm and the others are arriving." Jessica said.  
"Mrs. Whitly, will you ask the groomsmen to come in for their pictures with Lily? We'll finish off with one large group photo around Lily." She looked around the room.  
"Now, if you'll retire to the bridal suite while we take Malcolm's solo pictures before the ceremony?" She asked me after the last of my pictures were complete.  
"Of course."  
I walked alone down the hallway then into the bridal room lost in thought.  
"Stacy told me once she thought you'd be a bridezilla." Jessica said gently shaking me from my thoughts.  
"My mother never really knew me. Both of my parents always thought the worst of me. My entire life." I smiled sadly at her.  
"Yet, you still wish they were here?" She asked.  
"Part of me does. Yes." I nodded.  
"I think that's only natural. Every woman wants their mother to help them plan their wedding and their father to walk them down the aisle."  
"Gil has been more of a father to me than Todd Russell ever was." I sighed shaking my head.  
"I'm sorry, Lily. This is supposed to be a happy day." She frowned.  
"No, Jess. It's okay. It was bound to come up today. The best people I've ever known are here with Malcolm and I today. In body or in spirit, that's what matters." I smiled at her.  
She smiled back at me.  
"We're almost ready to start." Dani said walking into the room and handing me my bouquet of twenty-two white roses and twenty-two diamond flower accents.  
"Are you ready?" Gil asked walking up behind Dani.  
"Never been more ready for anything." I smiled.  
Gil offered me his arm and lead me to an area just out of sight to watch as the processional lined up just outside the large wooden doors leading to the grand hallway.  
The hallway easily accommodated our hundred and fifty guests, the gold aisle runner and an obscene about of mostly cream or white colored flowers. The walls of the hallway were wood paneled and the floor a sterling silver.  
Our officiant, Nathan Scott, walked through the door into the grand hallway just before 'A Thousand Years' by Christina Perri began.  
Heart beats fast  
Colors and promises   
Malcolm took Jessica arm and lead her down the aisle next.  
How to be brave  
How can I love when I'm afraid to fall   
Sophie and Aaron followed.  
But watching you stand alone  
All of my doubt, suddenly goes away somehow  
Then Ainsley and Vijay.  
One step closer  
I have died everyday, waiting for you   
Finally, Dani and JT took their walk down the aisle.  
Darling, don't be afraid  
I have loved you for a thousand years  
Gil turned to me with a smile and straightened my tiara before pulling Jackie's veil over my head to cover my face.  
I'll love you for a thousand more.  
"You look perfect." He smiled and offered me his arm.  
"Ready?" He asked as the music paused signaling our impending walk.  
I slid my hand through the crook of his arm and rested my fingertips on his forearm my engagement ring resting on my right ring finger until the exchange of rings part of our ceremony.  
"Ready." I smiled back.  
He looked over and nodded at our DJ Ryan.  
Time stands still  
Beauty in all she is  
I looked up at the hundreds of pairs of eyes staring at me. I gripped ahold of Gil's arm.  
I will be brave  
I will not let anything, take away  
"It's okay." He whispered urging me to step with him down the aisle.  
What's standing in front of me  
Every breath, every hour has come to this  
I normally didn't mind being the center of attention but in that moment my fingers trembled as my heart raced. The floor length skirt felt too long, like I'd trip over it at any moment.  
One step closer  
I have died everyday, waiting for you  
I focused my eyes down the aisle and once they found Malcolm's everything stopped. I didn't have a care in the world as I stared at him from beneath the veil.  
Darling, don't be afraid  
I have loved you for a thousand years  
He wore black suit with a black button up shirt with two buttons undone at the top.  
I'll love you for a thousand more  
And all along  
I could see the tears in his eyes as he watched us walk down the aisle passed the hundreds of people in attendance but I didn't see them. We were the only two people in the whole world in that moment.  
I believed,  
I would find you  
Malcolm ran his hand through his hair causing a stray piece to fall over his forehead.  
Time has brought your heart to me,  
I have loved you for a thousand years  
Finally, Gil and I stood beneath the large chandelier barely a step away from Malcolm.  
I'll love you for a thousand more  
Gil and I turned to face one another so he could lift my veil and hug me. He pulled away from me, a tear trailing down his face. I reached up to wipe it away earning me a grateful smile before he turned and hugged Malcolm. He took my hand gently in his guiding it into Malcolm's and took my bouquet before turning to join Jessica in the front row.  
Malcolm and I turned to face our officiant who smiled at us.  
"Ladies and gentlemen, it is with great joy I welcome and thank you, on behalf of Malcom and Lilian, for gathering at this late hour to bare witness to their union." Nathan Scott began before turning his attention to us.  
"Marriage is a lifelong commitment of love. Only the two of you can do as you have chosen; joining yourselves to one another. As you find union with each other, proclaim that union tonight and pledge it's future, we, by our participation choose only to recognize and honor your intention to dwell together as husband and wife.  
"Turn to one another, now, and join hands." He instructed.  
Malcolm and I turned to face each other my fingertips resting on his upturned palms.  
"Malcolm, please look into Lilian's eyes and recite your vows."  
"Lilian Jade Russell." He smiled at me.  
"You are the best part of me. My heart, my soul, my love. I promise to always love you for who you are and who you are meant to be. I promise to support you in all of your endeavors. I promise to walk alongside you through the good and the bad; in sickness and health. Then, now, forever."  
I didn't even try to fight the tears that sprang to my eyes at his words.  
"Lilian, please recite your vows to Malcolm." Nathan turned to me.  
"Malcolm." I smiled at him through my tears.  
"Malcolm, my love. You are the love of my life. My soulmate. My everything. I vow to always chose you. To always have your back, even when your wrong. To never put another before you, until we have kids. To support you. To love you unconditionally. To remind you that you are just a man. To allow you to be vulnerable and safe with me. I vow to always be yours as you are mine. You are never alone. I am always right by your side. Whatever you face, we face together. I love you, Malcolm Lucas Bright. Then. Now. Forever."  
Malcolm's tears flowed as freely as mine.  
"Do we have the rings?" Nathan looked at JT and Dani who stepped up to us.  
I met Dani's eye and found tears streaming down her face as well as she handed me Malcolm's platinum wedding band.  
"Do you, Malcolm, take Lilian to be your lawfully wedded wife?" Nathan asked him once Dani and JT returned to their spots.  
"I do." He smiled at me.  
"Lilian, it is with a free and unconstrained soul that I give you all that I am and all that I am to become. Take this ring, and with it my promise of faith, patience, and love. Then. Now. Forever."  
Malcolm slid my platinum wedding band onto my left ring finger followed by my engagement ring from my right hand.  
"Do you, Lilian, take Malcolm to be your lawfully wedded husband?" Nathan turned to me.  
"I do." I smiled at my love.  
"Malcolm, I love you with all that I am, all that I have been, and all that I shall be with all of my heart and soul and now, I offer my proof. This ring is the offering of my being, all of my heart, my soul, and my health. All I have and all I will ever have; it is yours, as I always have and will always be yours. Then. Now. Forever."  
I slid his ring onto his left ring finger.  
"Now that Malcolm and Lilian have given themselves to each other by the promises they have exchanged and have so affirmed in love and knowledge of the other, so also do I declare as the clock strikes midnight on this new year and I, now pronounce you husband and wife." Nathan said as the clock began to strike midnight.  
"Malcolm, you may now kiss your bride."  
Malcolm stepped forward and took my face in his hands kissing me deeply. Our guests offered their applause until our kiss broke and he was looking into my eyes again.  
"Malcolm and Lilian, our best wishes go forward from this day with you and wish for you a fulfilling life, rich in caring and happiness. May you find a gentle and peaceful life that nurtures and comforts you, and that reflects your honesty, kindness, and integrity. There is a wonderful life ahead of you. Live it fully, love its changes and choices, and let life amaze you and bring you great joy." He told us; our queue to turn and face our audience.  
"It is my profound pleasure to introduce Mr. and Mrs. Malcolm and Lilian Bright."  
Malcolm and I joined hands and began our walk back down the aisle accompanied by still more applause.  
I came to life when I first kissed you  
The best me has his arms around you  
You make me better than I was before  
Thank God I'm yours  
Malcolm and I met the wedding party, Jessica and Gil back in the ballroom for the couple pictures before the reception.  
From this moment, life has begun  
From this moment, you are the one  
Right beside you is where I belong  
From this moment on  
Dani and JT stepped out into the ballroom where he twirled her before they spilt to their respective seats with their significant others.  
From this moment, I have been blessed  
I live only for your happiness  
And for your love, I'd give my last breath  
From this moment on  
Ainsley and Vijay took their turn following Dani and JT's lead.  
I give my hand to you with all my heart  
I can't wait to live my life with you, I can't wait to start  
You and I will never be apart  
My dreams came true because of you  
Finally, Sophie and Aaron followed before walking together to their seats together.  
From this moment as long as I live  
I will love you, I promise you this  
There is nothing I wouldn't give  
From this moment on, oh  
Gil extended his arm to Jessica and she took it with a smile. He lead her onto the dance floor and to the head table where Malcolm and I would join them for cake, Appetizers, and cocktails.  
You're the reason I believe in love  
And you're the answer to my prayers from up above  
All we need is just the two of us  
My dreams came true because of you  
Malcolm reached for my hand which I gave him happily as the final verses of the song played announcing our entrance.  
From this moment as long as I live  
I will love you, I promise you this  
There is nothing I wouldn't give  
From this moment  
I will love you as long as I live  
From this moment on  
Malcolm's smile always warmed my heart but now it seemed as if it could light the world on fire as he spun me onto the dance floor in preparation for our first dance song. Sometimes Late at Night by Eric Burgett.  
He then wrapped his arms around my waist and I could feel his heartbeat in his chest.  
Sometimes late at night when you're sleepin'  
I find myself awake and it feels like I'm the one who's dreamin'  
I rested my head against his shoulder as we swayed with very small steps so we could focus on the lyrics.  
Sometimes late at night I see you lyin' there  
I know I found the answer to my prayer  
I sung gently running my fingertips over the fibers of his jacket.  
I got a heart full of dreams and fears  
You say I worry, say I think too much  
I couldn't help but feel like Malcolm and I were the only two people not just in the room but in the world.  
I don't believe I could take it here  
In a world without your touch  
He pulled me tighter against his chest so his lips vibrated against my ear as he sang to me.  
For everything that's wrong in life  
When I got you by my side  
His arms tightened slightly around me drawing me to look up into his eyes.  
I know it's all gonna be alright  
It's so clear  
I moved to wrap my arms around his neck so we could look into each other's eyes.  
Sometimes late at night   
Beside me in the dark  
He sang for me again running his fingers through my hair. Emotion evident in his eyes.  
You don't say a word, it's еnough to heal my heart  
I watch a little smilе of moonlight move across your face  
I pulled him closer to me so I could rest my head against his shoulder again, my arms still around his neck.  
And when I hear you breathe this noisy world seems so far away  
I got a heart full of dreams and fears  
I listened to his soft voice singing in my ear gently as we drifted across the dance floor in each other's arms as tears streamed down my face.  
You say I worry, say I think too much  
I don't believe I could take it here  
I could hear the emotion in his voice as he continued singing to me.  
In a world without your touch  
For everything that's wrong in life  
I moved to look up into his eyes, tears freely flowed between us.  
When I got you by my side  
I know it's all gonna be alright  
I reached up and wiped the tears from his cheeks before singing the final verse for him.  
It's so clear sometimes late at night  
Sometimes late at night  
He gently wiped the tears from my face before passing me off to Gil for The Girl You Think I Am by Carrie Underwood.  
You think I'm strong, you think I'm fearless  
Even when I'm, I'm at my weakest  
You always see the best in me when I can't  
I wanna be the girl you think I am  
I sang quietly along with the song the same as I had sitting next to his hospital bed after his stabbing.  
"The veil suits you." He smiled at me latching onto a menial subject.  
"I wouldn't know. I can't see it." I teased lightly.  
"Right..." He muttered.  
Cause you think I'm brave, and you think I'm beautiful  
You think that I can do the impossible  
You always see the best in me when I can't  
I wanna be the girl you think I am  
"Have I ever told you that I always wanted children?" He asked.  
"No. You haven't." I pulled back slightly to look at him.  
"Since I was a boy I always envisioned my future with children." He sighed almost sadly.  
"You do have children, Gil. Maybe we aren't biologically yours but we all love you. You've shown us a paternal love we lost or never even knew. That's infinitely more important than any blood relation." I told him as the song continued around us.  
All I want, more than anything  
Is to make you proud of me  
My voice broke as I sang quietly as it did every time.  
'Cause you think I'm strong, and you think I'm fearless  
Even when I'm, I'm at my weakest  
You believe in me; yeah, you're my biggest fan  
So I wanna be the girl you think I am  
I wanna be the girl you think I am  
I finished the song but he didn't let me go quite yet.  
"Lilian Jade Bright. You have always made me proud. You never have to worry about that." He told me with tears in his eyes.  
I led him off the floor so Malcolm and Jessica could dance to Because You Loved Me by Celine Dion.  
You were my strength when I was weak  
You were my voice when I couldn't speak  
You were my eyes when I couldn't see  
You saw the best there was in me  
Lifted me up when I couldn't reach  
You gave me faith 'cause you believed  
I'm everything I am  
Because you loved me  
I smiled at Malcolm as he returned to me. Jessica wiped tears from her eyes as she walked towards Gil.  
"Do you think they'll get married?" Malcolm asked me as we watched them from across the room.  
"If they stop being stubborn maybe. Would that bother you?" I asked leaning into him.  
"No. I think it'd be good for both of them. I would worry about how Dr. Whitly would react." He said his eyes unfocused.  
"Let's not worry about that until it happens?" I suggested causing him to look down into my face.  
"Of course." He shook his head.  
Dani walked up to us then with a young man on her arm.  
"You must be James Daniels." I smiled reaching out to shake his hand.  
"I've heard great things about you."  
"You really are Lilian Russell?" He mused staring at me, his brown eyes wide.  
"You doubted her?" I teased lightly as Malcolm wrapped his arm around my waist.  
"No... Of course not. It's just... You're a legend. I can't believe I actually get to meet you." He reached forward and shook my hand.  
"Mr. Bright." He turned to Malcolm shaking his hand as well.  
"Just Bright or Malcolm, please." Malcolm insisted.  
"Oh gosh... it's Lilian Bright now, isn't it?" He looked between my new husband and I apologetically.  
"It's alright. It's not officially changed yet. Dani is dropping off the paperwork for me on Monday and I'll go and sign when we get back." I smiled at her.  
Dani glanced at me gauging my reaction. It wasn't that she needed me to like him but she wanted me to.  
I smiled and nodded my approval. He seemed nice enough and I'd ask Ashlyn to run a thorough background later. I trusted Dani's judgement more than even she did but we couldn't be too careful.  
I caught Malcolm watching Ainsley as their mother gathered the unmarried women for the bouquet toss after a half hour or so of dancing, appetizers, and cocktails. I wasn't terribly concerned with the bouquet or garter toss but Jessica was so excited for it I couldn't crush her.  
"Come on, Lily. It's time." She beamed at me pulling my focus away from my new husband.  
"Okay. Okay." I smiled at her.  
I've been told I'm not ladylike  
But I'm a lady like, woah  
I could bring you to your knees  
And get you kicked out the Garden of Eden  
I stood at the head of the dance floor near the head table with my back to the group, my bouquet in my hand.   
Untameable, unframeable, Mona Lisa  
Oh, kiss you like a whiskey fire  
Turn around, leave your heart in a riot  
Lipstick in a cigarette pack on the dash  
I tossed my bouquet over my head and turned around to watch Jessica catch the flying floral arrangement and laugh.  
I'm a lady like that  
The group cleared out and brought an intricate wooden chair over to me so I could sit down while the unmarried men gathered for the garter toss.  
"Remember Malcolm, use your teeth." I teased as he crouched in front of me and the music started earning me a playful glare.  
I'm gon ride, I'm gon ride, I'm gon ride  
I'm gon ride on you baby, on you lady all night, all night  
I felt his tongue wrap around the thin piece of lace wrapped around my thigh. He used his teeth to move it steadily down my leg.  
I'ma take care of your body, I'll be gentle, don't you scream  
It's getting hotter, make it softer, feel your chest on top of me  
I laughed as he pulled his head from my skirt, my garter hanging from his lip.  
I'm gon ride, I'm gon ride, I'm gon ride  
I'm gon ride on you baby, on you lady all night, all night  
He stood up and shot the garter into the air and it fell almost directly into Gil's outstretched hand.  
I'm gon make you feel that loving, getting weak all in your knees  
Kiss your body from the tip top all the way down to your feet  
"Maybe it's a sign." Malcolm whispered to me as he helped me stand up and 'Worship You' by Kane Brown kicked off the open dance floor again.  
"Maybe." I smiled looking over at Gil and Jessica dancing together near the center of the dance floor.  
"What's on your mind?" I asked my husband as we shared a Champagne Cocktail.  
"Do you think she'll be okay while we're gone?" He asked his eyes finding Ainsley easily on the dance floor where she danced with Ryan.  
"I think so. I asked Sophie and Aaron to keep an eye on her." I smiled at him running my fingers through his hair.  
"You've thought of everything." He turned to smile at me.  
"Of course. I'm amazing." I teased.  
"Yes, you are, Mrs. Bright."  
"Malcolm, Lily! It's time to cut the cake." Our baker, Christine King called as she wheeled out a grand three tiered white cake with gold luster dust accents and twenty-two cream colored roses cascading down the tiers.  
You're my person  
My heartbeat, my slow dance  
I picked up the intricate silver cake knife in my right hand  
My Sunday morning sippin' on coffee in bed  
My know-when-you-know best friend  
Malcolm wrapped his right hand around mine so we could cut into the cake together. As we sliced through the top tier Malcolm leaned over and kissed me.  
The stealer of my t-shirts, my reason for speedin' home from work  
My saving grace  
Inside was a luscious caramel sponge cake and a delicious caramel praline filling.  
My everything  
I never been more sure that you're my person  
Another five or six songs played as our guests enjoyed their cake slices until our final dance song ''I'm With Her' by Folks Like Them  
I took love for granted when I was young  
This time I grabbed her and started to run  
"I've always considered myself lucky just to know you and everyday you amaze me with how much you love me. Now, you've married me and I have no idea what to do with myself." Malcolm admitted as we danced across the floor.  
She's my anchor, my saving grace  
I'll be with her for the rest of my days  
"We spend the next fifteen days in Cabo, alone together, then we get home and we build a life. Maybe we have children and we see where life takes us." I smiled looking into his crystal blue eyes.  
It was worth every lesson I needed to learn  
Just so I can say  
I'm with her.  
"What about my father?" He asked suddenly after a long pause as the song came to an end.  
"What about him?" I asked as our guests lined up to throw rose petals over us as we exited out to the limousine that would take us to visit to Martin before returning to the newlywed suite at Winter Rose Castle.  
"What will he find himself entitled to when we have children?" Malcolm's voice shook slightly.  
"Malcolm Bright your father will have no claim to our children." I chuckled humorlessly as Jessica tried to organize our one hundred and fifty guests into two lines of seventy-five at the exit door.  
"What will we tell them about who he is?"  
"We'll figure that out when the time comes. Our children will be yours and mine and no one else's. They will know love and they will know that their parents are in love and they were created in love and that's the most important thing. We will be better than they were." I assured him as 'Die a Happy Man' by Thomas Rhett began indicating the guests finally figured out the two even lines.  
And I know that I can't ever tell you enough  
That all I need in this life is your crazy love  
Malcolm and I joined hands and began our exit.  
If I never get to see the Northern Lights  
Or if I never get to see the Eiffel Tower at night  
At the end of the lines of guest he pulled me to a stop, turned to me and pressed his lips to mine.  
Oh, if all I got is your hand in my hand  
Baby, I could die a happy man  
A happy man, baby  
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Malcolm asked me as we rode in the back of the limousine towards Claremont Psychiatric hospital.  
"Want is a strong word, my love, but we made a promise and I had to pull a lot of strings to get us in this late." I answered.  
"I really just want to take you to bed." He sighed nibbling at my earlobe, toying with the back of my earring with his tongue.  
"I want that too, but we gave our word. In and out. Ten minutes tops, and we don't even have to make it to the bed."  
"Promise?" He teased.  
"I promise." I leaned in and kissed him.  
Malcolm and I held hands as we walked down the hallway.  
"Ah! Malcolm, my boy! Lilian, you've made such a beautiful bride. I see Jessica has lent you the Milton Tiara. You are a lucky man, my boy." Martin looked between us as we walked through the door.  
"It was a gift." I answered with a nod.  
"Hello, Dr. Whitly." Malcolm nodded at his father.  
"Oh, come now, Malcolm. On your wedding day you could call me dad." Martin sighed and looked at me.  
"Is it Lilian Whitly now?"  
"Bright is the name he's chosen and it's the name I'm taking." I answered.  
"We came because you asked us to but we don't have a lot of time before our flight." Malcolm lied effortlessly beside me.  
"Ah, your honeymoon. How long will you be gone?" He asked pointedly.  
"Two and a half weeks. We return on the seventeenth and return to work on the eighteenth." I answered.  
"You two must be anxious to be alone." Martin smirked at us.  
"Lily, will you turn just once for me so I can see the back?" He asked me.  
I nodded and took Malcolm's hand so he could spin me slowly almost like a ballerina.  
"Absolutely beautiful. Very pretty veil." He mused.  
I resisted the urge to tell him it was Gil's wife's veil.  
"Please. Please, can we take just one picture?" He asked looking at me.  
I nodded.  
"Without the chains, please. My son will only be married once."  
I looked over at Malcolm who looked at me.  
"Mr. David? Please." I said.  
"Ma'am?" He asked.  
"He won't hurt me." I assured him.  
"How can you be so sure?" He looked at me.  
"You said while Malcolm and I were investigating the murder at Remington Academy that he was the one person you can't hurt." I looked at Martin who nodded enthusiastically.  
"He won't hurt me because that would hurt him. Malcolm would never come back here." I turned back to Mr. David.  
He sighed but stepped forward and removed the handcuffs and the chain around his waist.  
"Would you, please?" I handed Mr. David my cellphone, the camera already up.  
Malcolm and I stepped over the red line to stand next to his father. Martin laid his hand respectfully on my hip as he stood between us.  
"Smile." Mr. David said, his voice and body tense but I knew I was right.  
All Martin wanted was to be close to Malcolm. To control him. The best way for me to protect Malcolm and our family from Martin was to get close to him. Allow him the small wins so I appeared to be an ally.  
"Thank you, Lilian. Truly." Martin looked at me as Mr. David handed me back the phone.  
"It came out well." I smiled showing the picture to him.  
"That it did." He smiled back at me.  
"Ah, well, go on you crazy kids. I hope you enjoy your trip." Martin smiled at us.  
"Goodnight, Martin." I nodded at him.  
"Yes, goodnight, Dr. Whitly." Malcolm echoed.  
"Goodnight." He beamed at us.  
"Does he seem odd to you?" Malcolm asked as we climbed back into the limousine.  
"Yeah, he does. Surprisingly well behaved even before the picture." I mused.  
"Do we worry?" He asked as I settled into his arms for the drive back to our newlywed suite before the flight in the morning.  
"Yes. When we get back on the seventeenth." I answered looking up into his face.  
He smiled looking down at me.  
Malcolm's lips were on mine before we got the door to the suite open. He helped me unfasten the veil and tiara from my hair laying it gently on the table by the door. He pressed my back against the now closed door kissing me again. His lips didn't leave mine as he took off my earrings, necklace, bracelet, and watch. They trailed down my neck as we worked his jacket off his shoulders. I used his shoulders to support myself as I kicked off my diamond crusted stiletto heels.  
We stumbled blindly through the suite removing each other's clothes.  
My bare back hit the wall as his chest pressed against mine, his lips eager against mine then moving down my neck, his thumbs slid under the hem of my panties. He left a trail of kisses down my torso removing the last of my clothing.  
He moved to lay me down on the floor his fingers laced with mine pressing my hands against the floor as he slid into me. I sighed as my body began to accommodate him. His lips returned to my neck as we lost ourselves in one another making love for the first time as husband and wife.


End file.
